The Underworld Princess
by ToTheDarkSide.TheyGotCookies
Summary: What if Percy had an unexpected friend back at Yancy Academy, who also was a demigod. Roxanna was Percy's best friend, but with all the weird things happening and new people, will they stay that way? How will they react when they find out who their fathers are? And what was that about a quest? The Lightning Thief? ... Lightning Thief with a twist! ... Beta wanted!
1. The word fun has various meanings

**A/N**

**So this is the new story I've been working on, really hope you like it and even if you don't, please tell me what I can do to make it better.**

**The song is called **_**Angle with a shotgun**_**, originally, by **_**The Cab**_** but this is the version by **_**Nightcore**_**. It's very good, I really recommend it, if anyone's interested ;)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my OC.**

* * *

_**Chapter 1**_

"_**The word "fun" has various meanings."**_

* * *

"_Well baby, you are all that I adore / If love is what you need / A soldier I will be…_" A 12-year-old girl mumbled, so low that no one heard her.

Black headphones around her head, she happily listened to her Ipod, bobbing her head to the music that blasted throw the speakers.

Her coal black hair, which kissed her collarbones ever so slightly, swayed from side to side as she weaved her way through the dense crowd. Her hair had big princess curls/waves, and she always wore a white ribbon clip in her hair (on the left side) – which had a silver skull in the middle of it and had onyx eyes –, pulling the left side of her bangs away from her face and behind her ear_._

"_I'm an angle with a shotgun __/ Fighting 'til the wars won / I don't care if heaven won't take me back__…_" the girl kept singing.

She had a rather ethereal frame and wasn't all that tall. Her skin was pale but creamy in tone and she never got a tan, no matter how much she was out in the sun.

People kept pushing to get to their destination, ignoring others around them, as the girl came to a stop. She looked at the park, which had flowers of every color, but frowned as she looked at the people around her hurrying to wherever. The girl couldn't help but think that no one ever stopped to look at the small beauties in the world. It saddened her in some way.

She continued walking to her own destination, with a slight sigh.

Her eyes, which were probably the most particular part of her, were big like a doll's (minus the creepy part, mind you), framed by long black lashes that were always casting slight shadows on her cheeks. Her irises were so black that they looked like two bottomless pits, even her pupils seemed like a part of the irises, except for the small silver line that surrounded the pupils, but one would have to look close to see it.

"_I'll throw away my faith, babe, just to keep you safe / Don't you know you're everything I have? / And I, wanna live, not just survive / Tonight…_"

She turned down a corner, just evading a man walking rather fast, making the girl think that he was maybe late for work.

She was wearing a dark grey vest with a hood – outlined with grey fur –, a black long-sleeved with a grinning skull on the front, and a pair of dark jeans and black combat boots. A ring on her right hand, as black as nightmares, with a silver skull that had onyx eyes and words that looked ancient was engraved into it, and if translated, said: _Dusk Cutter_.

"_Sometimes to win, you've got to sin / Don't mean I'm not a beli__-_"

"Hey, lass!" said a British male voice, cutting her off abruptly. "Is your name Roxanna Fleur?" he asked.

The girl turned around to face the voice, meanwhile taking the headphones off. The man was tall and elegant, with chocolate-colored skin and bleached-blond hair shaved military style. He wore tortoiseshell shades and a silk Italian suit that matched his hair. A black rose was pinned to his lapel.

He stood, or leaned, against a slick black limo that was parked just at the same sidewalk the girl was on.

The girl narrowed her eyes at the man, calculating him, searching him for any bad signals, when she didn't find any she finally said, "Yes, that's me, Mr. … um…?" her voice was much like a soft song, soothing and comforting but dangerous, like Death's own personal lullaby.

"Charon."

"What a weird name…" Roxanna mumbled bluntly. "Wasn't Charon the ferryman of Hades? So you share the same name as him?" she then said a little louder.

"You could say that." Charon said, smiling slyly.

"So, Mr. Charon, what is it you needed me for?" Roxanna then asked curiously after a little silence.

"Your father is alive, lass."

That was all Roxanna needed to get a headache and feel like lying down, but at the same time ready to punch someone and scream her head off. Her dad was alive? Then why was she at an orphanage? Didn't he want her? Didn't he…?

Roxanna started trembling slightly, her hands curled into fists, and her eyes hard and unreadable. "How would you know? And if he's alive then why didn't he contact me? I mean, he could at least do that much."

Charon's eyes softened and he laid a hand on top of Roxanna's head, caressing it with his thumb. He crunched down to her level and smiled reassuringly. He knew it was a bit much to take in, Roxanna _was_ just a little girl.

"He can't contact you directly himself, Luv, because of the laws in his family. But he did try and do as much as he could for you." Charon said, making Roxanna raise her head slightly and look up at him. "He did, after all, choose the orphanage you live at, gave instructions for you to learn swordsmanship and martial arts, made a bank account for you and gave you that ribbon and ring you're wearing."

Roxanna blushed in embarrassment, which was quite visible do to her skin color. Of course, she knew all that but after thinking that her dad had been dead for all those years, hearing that he was actually alive…

Well, that made her a bit angry and questions started to pop up.

"How do you know so much about him?" she asked, her cheeks still slight red.

Charon smiled slyly again. "I work for him."

Roxanna couldn't help but snort. "Wouldn't it be funny if his name was Hades then? You'd match." She gave a cheeky grin.

"Very." Charon said softly and stood, but not without giving Roxanna's hair a little ruffle, which made her pout cutely. "He sent me here to check up on you, and it seems to me that you're doing just fine."

Roxanna smiled at that. Her dad _did_ really care for her.

"But know this," Charon said, sitting in the limo now, window rolled down. "he is proud of you no matter what you do." And with that, Charon drove away leaving a smiling Roxanna behind.

That happened at the start of the school year, it was May now, and Roxanna was sitting in a school bus, happily sleeping away the passing time, while the other twenty-something mental-case kids were talking loudly and throwing notes at each other.

Percy Jackson, twelve years old, male (if you couldn't guess that then… wow) and the person's shoulder Roxanna was sleeping on. Percy had messy jet-black hair and bright sea-green eyes. He was athletic and looked like a troublemaker, but actually quite handsome (but of course he was just as clueless as Roxanna).

_He_ was one of Roxanna's best friends.

When Percy first met her (she'd been going to Yancy ever since first grade), he'd been partnered up with her in sciences at the start of the school year, sixth grade. When they had to presented their project, it somehow managed to explode in their teacher's face, making his face completely black with soot and hair blown back, giving him a crazed look. Ever since that, they'd been the best of friends.

Anyway, they were on a school field trip with their sixth grade to the Metropolitan Museum of Arts to look at Ancient Greek and Roman "stuff", as Percy so lovingly put it.

It sounded like torture to Percy, thought Roxanna liked the idea of looking at the Ancient things. It gave her a weird comfort to be around the nearly broken stuff, she felt an odd connection when she looked at it, like it was part of her life without her knowing.

Even thought it sounded like torture (most Yancy field trips were), Percy had hopes because Mr. Brunner, their Latin teacher, was leading the trip.

Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee. Most wouldn't think he was cool, but he told stories and jokes and let them play games in class. He also had this special collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put anyone to sleep.

Well, except maybe that one guy who sleeps in all the classes, but anyway, you get my point.

On this trip, Percy was determined to be good, so all the way into the city, he put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting his other best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich.

Grover was an easy target. He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated. Percy figured that he must've been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of all that, he was crippled.

He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but that didn't fool Percy or Roxanna. The minute Grover had lunch, well, you should've seen him run when he found out it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.

All Percy could do was stare at the cloud, formed like his best friend, left in his place, as Roxanna cheered, "Whoop! Go get 'em Grover! Show them who's the boss!"

Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew Percy couldn't do anything back to her because he was already on probation. The headmaster had threatened him with death by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip.

Roxanna had complained when she heard that, saying that it wouldn't be "fun" otherwise.

Knowing her, she'd find a way to have a good time anyway.

"I'm going to kill her," Percy mumbled.

Grover tried to calm him down. "It's okay. I like peanut butter."

He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.

"That's it." Percy started to get up when he remembered and _felt_ the weight on his shoulder.

Roxanna was still sleeping soundlessly, innocent of all the noise and people around them. Like always.

_Or_ she just didn't care. Percy wasn't sure which it was.

Roxanna woke with a shock, having to think fast as she fell forward. She quickly raised her hand and put them on the seat in front of her, stopping her fall. She sat back and looked at Percy with a little annoyance – who looked back at her sheepishly -, which quickly vanished when she saw the peanut butter in Grover's hair.

She made a face. "Who did that to you, Grover?" she asked, voice sleepy but had a dangerous tint to it. She looked around and noticed that Nancy had her hand raised, as if she'd just thrown something. Roxanna clenched her fists. "Was it Bobofit?"

"Yeah," Percy growled, but then smirked at the look on Roxanna's face. "what are you gonna do, Sunshine?"

Sunshine was really just a bad joke Percy and her shared, it was something Percy always called her because she always wore dark clothes and no one really thought of her as "sunshine".

Roxanna smirked back at Percy before she turned to look back at Nancy with an annoyed expression.

"Bobofit," she said sternly, getting Nancy's and her goons' attention. "if you know what's good for you, you'd stop throwing food at my friend." She then smirked tilting her head to the side, making Nancy shiver with the others, and said sweetly. "Or would you like to know what happened to Vincent and his friends?"

The boys Roxanna was talking about had bullied Grover some time ago, after that Roxanna had locked them in their rooms at night and then walked away twirling the key in her hand, while the boys screams could be heard all other the dorms. The day after nobody knew what happened, other then that they were evading Roxanna – out of fear – and Grover. They'd looked like they'd seen a ghost, with bags under their eyes, hunched posture and bowed heads, not looking anyone in the eyes.

Nancy's eyes widened and she quickly shook her head from side to side, while stuttering, "N-no, Sir- I-I mean, m-ma'am- Roxanna-" she was silenced by a raised eyebrow from Roxanna.

She smirked. "Good girl." And sat back down in her seat, getting a little disproving sigh from Grover while high-fiving a grinning Percy.

Mr. Brunner led the museum tour.

He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding them all through the big echoey galleries and Roxanna couldn't help that little part of her ADHD mind to think about calling out and hear the echoes run along the walls of the museum. Roxanna shook her head and realized that she had stopped walking, so she could look at the big gallery. She quickly caught up to the others, running past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery.

She came up besides Percy, as he said, "I can't believe this stuff has survived for two, three thousand years."

"Well, if you believe in Greek mythology, then this 'stuff' has been around for _much _longer then that." Roxanna raised her eyebrows and gave a lopsided smile, as she looked at Percy. "Since the first age would have to go all the way back to before the Stone Age, Perce."

Percy whistled. "And I thought Mrs. Dodds was old."

Roxanna laughed. "You really do hate her, don't you?"

"Of course I do! From day one she figured I was Satan's spawn!" he exclaimed. "She'd point her crooked finger at me and say, 'Now, honey,' real sweet and I'd be in for detention!"

Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into anyone's locker. She had come to Yancy halfway through the year, when their last math teacher had a nervous breakdown.

Roxanna weakly remembered one time, after Mrs. Dodds had made Percy erase answers out of old math workbooks until midnight, he told Grover and her that he didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human. Grover looked at Percy, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right."

Thought, Roxanna kind of liked her, mostly because even if she caught Roxanna doing something she wasn't allowed to, and no one was around, Mrs. Dodds would just smirk, give a little wink – as if to encourage her –, and look the other way. How Mrs. Dodds always seemed to know when Roxanna was up to something, she had no idea of how. Other then that, Mrs. Dodds was actually a good teacher she'd often helped Roxanna when she had problems with her Dyslexia.

"Devil spawn," Roxanna said dramatically, raising her arms in the air and making jazz hands at the ceiling. "you must praise the Lord that she hasn't pulled out her cross, yet."

Percy rolled his eyes, as his voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, ha-ha, Sunshine, you're hilarious."

Roxanna just grinned at her friend.

Mr. Brunner gathered the class around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, and started telling them how it was a grave marker, a _stele, _for a girl about their age. He told them about the carvings on the sides. Roxanna, and Percy, she noticed, was trying to listen to what he had to say, because she found it interesting, but everybody around her was talking, and every time she heard Percy tell them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give him the evil eye.

Mr. Brunner didn't notice a thing and kept talking about Greek funeral art.

Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele, which Roxanna rolled her eyes at.

_Grow up, would ya?_, she thought.

"Will you _shut up_?" Percy yelled, facing Bobofit.

The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story.

"Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?"

Percy's face was so red it looked close enough to be a tomato. "No, sir-"

"Mr. Brunner," Roxanna said, trying to save Percy's ass from kicking itself too much. "Percy was simply telling Bobfit to be quiet, since she was distracting us from your story."

"Well, Miss Bobofit," Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents, then?"

Nancy risked a quick glance at Roxanna, who was glaring at her, as Roxanna mouthed, _"It's either this… or me." _Which made her gulp, turning back to Mr. Brunner she said, "I- I don't know, Sir."

Mr. Brunner sighed. "Please pay attention next time, Miss Bobofit." He turned his attention to Percy. "Mr. Jackson, do _you_ know what the picture represents?"

Percy looked at the carving, revealed. "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"

"And he _did _this because..."

"Well..." he said. "Kronos was the king go-"

Roxanna nudged him in the side and faked a cough. "_Titan Lord._" She coughed again, which gained her an amused eye roll from Mrs. Dodds.

"Titan Lord," Percy corrected quickly. "And… umm…"

Roxanna sighed. She really needed to teach Percy about Greek mythology.

"Kronos didn't trust his kids," She said, and heard Percy sigh in relief. "who were the gods, because Kronos was destined to be over thrown by them, like his father. As a result, he ate them. But his wife, Rhea, hid Zeus and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. Which shows that he's either plain stupid, or that Zeus really just looks like a rock. Anyway, Zeus grew up on Crete, and when he was all grown up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters-"

"Eeew!" one of the girls behind her squeaked.

Roxanna rolled her eyes. "-by giving him a mixture of mustard and wine. Then a war between the gods and Titans broke out. The gods won by slicing Kronos into pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remaining body parts in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld."

Some of the kids snickered.

Behind Roxanna, Nancy Bobofit (_looks like she didn't learn her lesson,_ Roxanna thought) mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"

"And why, Mr. Jackson, Miss Fleur," Mr. Brunner said. "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"

"Busted," Grover muttered, making Roxanna smirk.

"Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face was an even brighter red than her hair.

Percy shrugged. "I don't know, sir."

"I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed, and then looked at Roxanna.

"Well, I guess, it could be an important part of your job, or such as, then it would be good to know who's who and what they did and so on." she said.

Mr. Brunner nodded his head approvingly. "Good, good. Full credit, Miss Fleur. Half credit to you, Mr. Jackson. So on that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"

The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other around and acting like idiots, which – in Roxanna's opinion at least – most of them were.

"Go on without me, guys, I'd like to look a little more." Roxanna waved at her two friends and took of down the gallery.

Roxanna walked back through the Greek and Roman gallery, passing statues of Apollo, Zeus, Athena, but she only stopped when she passed a stele about a certain ferryman. Charon stood in his boat, which was floating on the river Styx, holding his hand out for payment. The ghosts stood in line, so that they could maybe finally get some rest.

_Poor souls,_ frowning Roxanna trailed the long line of ghosts with her hand hovering over the surface. _They could really use some help with all the souls down there._

Some of the ghosts were already in the boat, but it was still far from full. Longer down the river, you could see a great palace rising in the distance. It towered over everything in the picture, with the three furies flying close to it.

"Alecto, Megaera, Tisiphone. Tortures of Hades." Roxanna whispered, before grinning. "And who said that women couldn't give a descent punch?"

She continued to walk until she found what she was looking for. It was a statue that caught her eye when she had to catch up with the group earlier, mostly because Roxanna had never seen many statues of this particular god.

The statue was of a muscular man with a long curly beard, who stood proudly, a crown sticking up from his curly hair. He was holding a kind of triton in his left hand, thought the fork at the top was only made of two points, not three. In his other hand was a chain, which was connected to a three-headed dog, which was only about half the man's height. The man wore a sort of toga, which was loosely wrapped around his legs and hips, some of it slung over his left shoulder.

It was a statue of Hades and the Underworld Guardian, Cerberus.

"See anything you like?" asked a voice amused.

Roxanna turned around to face Mr. Brunner, a little shocked by his sudden presence. Mr. Brunner rolled up besides Roxanna, looking at the statue.

"I was just about to leave." Roxanna said.

Mr. Brunner chuckled. "It is quite alright, child. Though, I do wonder, what interests you so much about the Underworld god?"

Roxanna looked back at the statue, tilting her head to the side. "Well, he drew the short end of the stick when it came to dividing realms, or so most would think."

Mr. Brunner raised an eyebrow. "Care to elaborate?"

"He's the god of the dead and wealth and Lord of the Underworld," Roxanna smiled as she explained. "so that means that everyone eventually ends up in his realm and he controls death. Everything under ground is in his realm, that's about the whole world – minus the sea and all –, if you don't throw Gaia in the mix, so wouldn't that make him about the most powerful god?"

Mr. Brunner frowned for some reason. "If you look at it like that, then I would probably have to agree with you."

"But that's not why I like him." Roxanna said suddenly.

Mr. Brunner blinked, confused but inside very pleased. "No?"

She shook her head. "He may be harsh, but he's also very honorable, I've actually never read any myth at all were he killed a mortal. Besides, he gave Orpheus his wife back, at least, as long as Orpheus didn't look back." Roxanna shrugged. "Hades is a good guy, just a little misunderstood."

Mr. Brunner stared at her with his intense brown eyes, a look that wouldn't let anyone go. Roxanna once thought that he'd maybe seen thousand of years pass by with those eyes, but that was impossible, so she had quickly dismissed the thought.

Mr. Brunner smiled. "You'd better get back to your friends, child, so you won't miss lunch."

"Okay." Roxanna turned to leave, when she remembered something. "Sir?"

"What is it, child?" Mr. Brunner said not unkindly and raised an eyebrow.

Roxanna push an invisible strand of hair behind her left ear. "It's just- I mean, the wea-" she stopped abruptly. "Never mind, Sir." She bit her bottom lip and turned to walk away, as she whispered with a sigh. "It's not important anyway."

Mr. Brunner frowned after the retrieving girl and a sigh of his own escaped his lips.

As Roxanna walked down the Greek and Roman section, she faintly noticed how empty it was, and felt a shiver go up her spine.

She rubbed her arms. _Something bad is about to happen. I just know it._ As she thought this, Roxanna saw Percy walk after Mrs. Dodds.

She frowned, and couldn't help but think about what the idiot had done now. But Roxanna still had the feeling that something was off, so with little hesitation, she followed completely unseen after Percy.

They made their way deeper into the museum.

Mrs. Dodds stopped in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She stood with her arms crossed. She made a growling like sound, and Roxanna quickly hid behind a statue of Hephaestus.

A bit away from her, Roxanna saw Percy tense.

"You've been giving us problems, honey," Mrs. Dodds said.

"Yes, ma'am." Percy said, as Roxanna bit her already abused lip.

Mrs. Dodds tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"

The look in her eyes was terrifyingly evil, it didn't help Roxanna's feelings one bit that she saw Percy unconscionably take a step back. Something was _really_ wrong. But what could it be? Percy couldn't had done something that bad? Could he?

"I'll-I'll try harder, ma'am." He stuttered.

Thunder shook the building, and Roxanna tightened her grip on the statue. It was as if even some upper divine force was angry with Percy.

"We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."

Percy stayed quiet. He hadn't a clue about what she was talking about.

"Well?" she demanded.

"Ma'am, I don't..."

"Your time is up," she hissed.

Roxanna's eyes widened. _I have to do something._

Mrs. Dodds eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She was a scary ass _something_ with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs.

As Mrs. Dodds transformed, Roxanna was already running over to Percy. "Percy!"

"Rox!" he seemed happy to see her. "What are you doing here?"

Roxanna smiled lopsidedly. "Saw you were in trouble, so I came to help."

She now stood besides Percy, as Mr. Brunner, who'd been in a completely other part of the Greek and Roman section, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.

"What ho, Percy! Roxanna!" he shouted, and tossed a pen and an old bronze training sword through the air.

Mrs. Dodds lunged at the two friends.

With a harsh shove from Roxanna, they both dodged, as she felt talons slash a bit to close for comfort. As Percy caught the ballpoint pen, it somehow turned into a sword –Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always used on tournament day.

That was one of the only things Roxanna liked about school. It was even kind of cool, because on tournament days, Mr. Brunner would dressed up in a suit of Roman armor and shouted: "What ho!'" and challenged them, sword-point against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person who had ever _lived, _and their mother, and what god they worshipped.

Roxanna quickly followed by snatching the training sword out of the air. It felt oddly uncomfortable in her hand, like it was meant for someone else, and not her. And as Roxanna pondered over the odd feeling, her skull ring spread assuring warmth through her hand and up her arm.

But Roxanna couldn't think about that right now, Percy and her had more pressing matters.

Mrs. Dodds spun toward Percy with a murderous look in her eyes, and Roxanna suddenly had the feeling that Mrs. Dodds was somehow trying to evade her.

She saw Percy's hands shaking, so much he'd probably drop the sword any minuet now. Thought Roxanna should feel scared, she didin't. Roxanna couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity that was coming from Mrs. Dodds, like she wouldn't hurt _Roxanna_, but _only_ Percy.

The thought didn't exactly reassure Roxanna much.

Mrs. Dodds snarled, "Die, honey!"

And she flew straight at Percy, who stood besides Roxanna.

"Percy! Mirror me!" Roxanna said urgently.

Percy gulped and took a stance like Roxanna, holding his sword up and feet spread apart. As one, they slashed at Mrs. Dodds – or, well, Roxanna slashed, Percy swung, but it still gave the same result. The metal blades ran clean through Mrs. Dodds shoulders and down, as if she was no more but a mere shadow.

Then not even a second later Mrs. Dodds was like a thick layer of dust on an old book being blown a way. She exploded into golden dust, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching them.

They were alone again, and Percy's sword had turned back into a ballpoint pen.

"Did," Percy swallowed the lump in his throat. "did that just happen?"

Roxanna shook her head in denial. "She- she was- she was-" Roxanna couldn't seem to get the words out.

Percy frowned, shaking Roxanna slightly by her shoulders. "She was what, Sunshine?"

"She was a _fury_, Percy, one of Hades' tortures and that means-" Roxanna cut herself off for the second time that day.

She suddenly remembered Mr. Charon's sly smile. '_I work for him.'_

Roxanna frowned in thought.

"What's wrong?" Percy's voice snapped Roxanna out of her musings.

She shook her head. "Nothing. Come on, Perce, we'd better get back to the others."

They went back outside.

It had started to rain, which didn't surprise Roxanna, the weather had been weird since Christmas. The clouds were surprisingly black, blacker then any clouds Roxanna had seen before, and she got this nagging feeling in the back of her mind that it wasn't just any normal storm, mostly because no one else seemed to mind the black clouds other then Percy.

The weather all across New York State had been like that. There'd been massive snowstorms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes. Somehow Roxanna wouldn't have been surprised if a hurricane suddenly blew in.

Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was standing there also, she was soaked to the bone, which Roxanna had no idea of how, but she had a feeling it had something to do with Percy. She was grumbling to her ugly goons. When she saw the two friends, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."

Roxanna narrowed her eyes suspiciously. They didn't have a teacher named Mrs. Kerr. "Mind your own business, _Bobofit_." She hissed.

Bobofit tried acting brave by puffing her (nonexistent) chest up. "I'll do what I want to."

Roxanna smirked, but before she could do anything, Percy put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Piss off, Nancy."

Said girl hissed, but walked away with her goons.

Percy asked Grover who Bobofit was talking about, but all he got was a squeaky, "Our teacher."

Roxanna frowned. "What about Mrs. Dodds?"

Grover paused first, he didn't look the two friend in the eyes, but he then said, "Who?"

"Not funny, man," Percy told him. "This is serious."

Thunder boomed overhead.

Roxanna saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading a book, as if he'd only been there.

Roxanna pulled Percy with her over to him.

Mr. Brunner looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen and training sword. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson. Miss Fleur, I'm glad you found it, I was afraid I lost it."

Roxanna had all most forgotten all about the sword, sadly she forgot she could've speared Bobofit with it. Percy handed Mr. Brunner his pen, and Roxanna gave him the sword, thought not with out giving him a little skeptical look.

"Sir," Percy said, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"

He stared at them blankly. "Who?"

"The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher." Roxanna said helpfully.

Mr. Brunner frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, Roxanna, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?"

Roxanna fought of the urge to frown. _Something's not right._

* * *

**So what do you think? Is my OC good or is she not well written enough? Oh, and if you've got any questions feel free to ask, I'll gladly answer them the best I can.**

**Please please please review!**


	2. Life puzzles never make sense to most

**A/N**

**I've corrected my grammar mistakes! Thank you for pointing it out ER3BUS ;P**

**POLL POLL POLL POLL POLL! I've posted a poll already, guys! And I want you to help me decide, since I thought that would be more fun and challenging for me that way, and of course you, too. So please, vote! XD**

**It's the first Sunday in December and it's already snowing! Yay! So here's the thing, I woke up and looked outside my window and saw snow everywhere! It's finally really Christmas! Therefore, merry Christmas, everyone!**

**I just wanna thank all those special people who has reviewed and favored and put this story on alert. Really, thanks! X'D**

**DeathmatchDrunkard:** Thank you so much! And I really hope I didn't over do it, with the swordsmanship and all. I'll try my absolute best not to disappoint you! XD

**Hozven:** Thanks, darling! XD And here's the next chapter~!

**Zsouthwell:** Awww~ Thanks! And I will… well, you can kinda see that. ;P Or is it _read_ that?

**ILoveReadingAndWriting:** Mari, I would just like to say… I _freaking_ love you! I am so glad that you like my OC, I've been working really hard on her (does that sound wrong?) to make sure she isn't one of those irritating OCs who you'd rather just hit or at least have the bad guys kill or something. I'm really happy you like my writing style. too, and to be honest, I'm kinda a freak when it comes to typo or grammatical errors. So, my loyal fan Mari, I hope you like the chapter~! XD

**Guest**(You know who you are): Thank you, darling ;) Your idea is very good ('cause I've come into a phase where I totally hate Annabeth ((sorry Percabeth lovers! But it's true))) and I might just use it… ;P Ya see, I'm completely fine with Percabeth in the _books_ but if it's fanfiction then I'd rather have Annabeth be a bitch and Percy getting together with someone else.

**Disclaimer: sadly, I don't own anything except for my OC. Not even**** Assassin's Creed, thought I wish I did, 'cause then Altaïr would be doing some very different things. Like Malik. If you know what I mean ;P Or he could be doing Desmond. Or Ezio. Or what about all three?**

**Yes, yes, I know, I'm one of **_**them!**_** *Points at a yaoi fangirl***

**And I'm loving every little bit of it! XD**

**Anyway, totally off topic, onward with the reading! *Salute***

* * *

_**Chapter 2**_

"_**Life puzzles never make sense to most."**_

* * *

Sure Roxanna had experienced some pretty weird stuff as little, so she was used to the occasional weird happening, but they were never this long.

Like one time, in first grade, she'd seen a glimpse of a black dog, which really couldn't be categorized as one, since it was the size of a rhino. But that was all she achieved to see. At first, she tried to follow the 'dog', 'cause she wanted to play with it, but she never found it so she walked back to the playground and got grounded for running off like that.

Another time, she was walking outside in the afternoon (probably not the best idea a 10-year-old could get) when suddenly the shadows seemed to reach out for her, and then Mrs. Oswell (the head of the orphanage) came. Roxanna remembered that the shadow retrieved quickly, as if they'd never moved, and that Mrs. Oswell grounded her for running out without an adult.

And then, at the start of the school year where she met Mr. Charon, it didn't seem weird back then, but now, when she'd been to the museum, it felt very surreal. After her talk with the strange man, Roxanna had hurried back to the orphanage (she was staying there for the holiday), thought she still didn't make it before curfew. So she got grounded.

Yet again.

Roxanna chuckled to herself. She seemed to get grounded a lot when smaller, and still even now. Not that she's an A-student, but, the fact is, Mrs. Oswell isn't here to ground her, since Roxanna goes to a boarding school and only comes home for the holidays. But then again, the holidays are enough time to get grounded in.

But even thought Mrs. Oswell grounded Roxanna a lot, she still cared for the old lady. She was kind, if not a bit harsh, but fair and never in Roxanna's living days had she heard Mrs. Oswell yell. Which is a feat in it self, Roxanna wasn't (and still isn't) one of the easiest children, she had ADHD and Dyslexia, so she couldn't sit still and almost always got in a verbal fight when smaller. And the occasional fist fight here and there.

Anyway, even thought all those weird stuff happened to Roxanna, she never told anyone. Who would believe her anyway? Rhino sized dogs? Shadows moving on their own? That only happened in books and movies, not in real life.

So when this twenty-four/seven hallucination came, it was a bit too much for Roxanna to handle. For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on her.

Roxanna was just glad that Percy saw the same as her, even thought he didn't seem to have a problem with who Mrs. Dodds were, or he just didn't know _what_ it meant. Somehow, Roxanna would be betting on the latter.

The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr – a really annoying perky blond woman whom Roxanna had never seen in her life, that is, until she skipped (sorry, _walked_) onto the bus at the end of the field trip, with a little pastel pink handbag – had been their pre-algebra teacher since Christmas.

Roxanna was at least glad that _Mrs. Kerr _was okay, she was nice. But it irked Roxanna that Mrs. Kerr acted like she was some fragile-little-mental-case-3-year-old, which made Roxanna _seriously_ reconsider assassination. (Don't you just love Assassin's Creed?)

Ever so often Roxanna heard Percy spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if he could trip the others up, but they would stare at him like he was psycho.

Which Roxanna was starting feel like more and more the more she thought about it all.

It nearly got so bad that all she actually wanted to do was believe them – there was never a Mrs. Dodds.

Nearly being the keyword.

Roxanna would then remember the Brit, Mr. Charon, and think about her father, who was alive, and she'd suddenly find herself smiling. Which gained her some weird looks from the others, but Roxanna didn't care, she wasn't an orphan anymore.

Then, one day, Percy asked Grover about Mrs. Dodds.

And we all know that Grover couldn't even fool the most gullible of all.

When Percy mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, and then claim she didn't exist. That was when Roxanna would chuckle and start singing, _"Lair, lair, pants on fire."_ Again and again, which didn't help Grover's nerves, thought Roxanna was satisfied by the result, since Grover _was_ _lying_ to them.

Roxanna, and no doubt Percy too, knew Grover was lying.

Roxanna's feeling of something bad, didn't go away. She knew something was going on. She _definitely_ knew that something had happened at the museum.

And that it was rather important. Something that could maybe change her life.

But she didn't have much time to think about it during the days, and at night, well, Roxanna quite liked the night, thought odd dreams of a man in a throne telling her to be careful and take care confused her even more. She didn't tell Percy, mostly because he'd told her that he had nightmares- sorry, _visions_ of Mrs. Dodds as a fury, and Roxanna somehow felt guilty that she didn't feel scared in the same way.

You see, Roxanna was much more scared of what it meant.

The freak weather continued of course (no such thing as wishful thinking stopping a upper divine force's childish rage), which didn't help Roxanna's feelings or mood for that matter.

Percy told her that one night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in his dorm room, which was the night that followed the day that a tree almost fell down on Roxanna if she hadn't been quick enough.

A few days after, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy.

One of the current events Percy and Roxanna studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year. Roxanna was sure of one thing: never fly. Ever.

Roxanna started feeling more paranoid then ever, if not a bit depressed, and the grades she had worked so hard on getting up to Cs went down to Fs, but that was mostly because Roxanna could never write the words probably.

Percy got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends, Roxanna didn't have the decency to stop him anymore, besides, it looked like he needed it just as much as she needed to get things straight with Grover. Roxanna got wittier with the teachers, so she got sent out into the hallway in a lot of the class.

At least Percy was there, too, right besides her in the hallway.

Then one time when their English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked Percy for the umpteenth time, why Percy was too lazy to study for spelling tests, he finally snapped. Percy called him an old sot. And Roxanna laughed out right at that, because 1) she was sure Percy didn't even know what it meant, and 2) it was actually true.

Mr. Nicoll _was_ an old sot.

Sadly, they both got sent out in the hallway that day.

Percy told Roxanna the headmaster sent his mom a letter. He wouldn't be coming back next year. Which made her sad, because Percy was one of the reasons why it was fun going to Yancy (Grover being the other) and she was sure that if she got thrown out on purpose, Mrs. Oswell would think up a whole new way to ground someone.

Besides, there were some things Roxanna would miss at Yancy, surprisingly. The view of the woods outside her dorm window and the walks there, the smell of pine trees, and especially how they looked at night in the moonlight. She'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend, even if he was lying and keeping a _big_ secret.

Roxanna worried a lot about how he'd survive next year without the two of them.

With Mr. Brunner's crazy fun tournament days and his spontaneous questions keeping her up on her feet, she'd definitely miss Latin class, too, she found it refreshing.

As exam week got closer, Roxanna carefully studied for every test, clearly remembering every word Mrs. Oswell said, "_You better get good grades on your tests, otherwise I'll make you clean the whole orphanage while repeating the answers you got wrong, until you get them all right!"_

She followed her threat through with a wave of her hand, gesturing to the entire orphanage, and an evil glare.

Roxanna shivered.

She was studying for the Latin test with Percy, in his dorm, when he threw the Greek mythology book across the room.

Roxanna chuckled. "Temper, Perce, temper."

"Dammit." Percy glared at her, but it was a moot point, since there was some playfulness in it. "It's not funny, Sunshine."

Roxanna nodded, grinning, which made Percy huff. "It kinda is."

"Well, how the hell am I supposed to know the difference between Charon and Chiron, or Polydictes and Polydeuces?"

"I know Charon, the one with an _A_, is the ferryman of Hades, while Chiron, with an _I_, is a centaur and the trainer of Heroes." Roxanna said with a lopsided smile. "Polydeuces, or better know as Pollux his Roman form, had a twin brother called Castor and together they form the constellation Gemini. There was something about Polydeuces being part of Jason's Argonauts, but I can never seem to remember that one." Roxanna waved it off nonchalantly, which gained her a sigh from Percy. "And Polydictes? I think he was some old king who wanted to marry Perceus' mother-"

Percy grimaced. "He wanted to marry my mom?"

"No, you idiot." Roxanna rolled her eyes. "Perceus, son of Zeus."

"I knew that."

"Sure you did. Anyway, so Polydictes said that if Perceus could kill Medusa and give him her head, he wouldn't marry Perseus' mother, and that's about all I remember." She shrugged. "If you have such a hard time with it, why not ask Mr. Brunner?"

Percy thought about the idea, and nodded. "Yeah, sounds like a plan."

They walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.

They were nearly at the door when Roxanna heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said, _"..._ worried about Percy and Roxanna, sir."

Said girl froze, and her hand shoot out to grip Percy's sleeve, so if needed she could pull him away.

Now, Roxanna wasn't proud of it, but she had absolutely no problem with eavesdropping, especially if it was a friend and a teacher talking about her.

Nope, there were no hard feelings.

But maybe they knew something important, and if they did she _had_ to know.

Roxanna inched closer, pulling Percy along, gesturing for him to be quiet.

"… alone this summer," Grover said. "I mean, a Kindly One in the _school!_ Now that we know for sure, and _they _know too-"

"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more. Roxanna, well, she may be mature, but there's something that worries me about her."

Roxanna frowned.

"But he may not have time. The summer solstice deadline-_"_

"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can. Besides, we have to find out what role Roxanna plays in all this. I can't help but feel she's a important piece in this puzzle."

"Sir, there's something unnerving about her…" Grover stopped, maybe to think about what to say next.

Okay, Roxanna was _not_ going to lie, _that_ offended her.

"… Her scent is too strong for an unknowing half-blood," Grover continued. "It's like she- she's _here_ for something. _Knows_ something."

"Maybe," Mr. Brunner said. "only time will show. But hopefully the Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince them that nothing happened."

"Sir, I... I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."

"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall-"

The mythology book dropped out of Percy's hand and hit the floor with a thud.

Mr. Brunner went silent.

_Shit. Shit. Shit. Shitshitshitshitshitshit**shit****.** _Roxanna continued to curse mentally.

She felt her heart hammering._ Ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump_ it said, as Roxanna picked up the book for Percy and ran down the hall, togging Percy along. Roxanna pushed Percy in the direction of his dorm and whispered, so soft that it nearly wasn't heard by Percy, "Go to your dorm, we'll talk later."

Percy nodded his head and quickly ran to his dorm. Roxanna couldn't come with him, it was long past curfew, and girls weren't allowed in the boys' dorm, and visa versa. She couldn't be caught going into his room.

A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than their wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked so much like an archer's bow, it couldn't have been anything _but_ that.

Roxanna looked around, she opened the nearest door and slipped inside, moving to the back, so the shadows hid her well. Her heartbeat slowed and her breathing almost nonexistent. That was the funny thing about the dark, it always seemed to comfort Roxanna. When she was smaller she used to imagine that it was her mother or father that was holding her.

A few seconds later she heard a slow _clop-clop-clop, _like a horse walking, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside the door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, and then moved on.

Roxanna held her breath.

Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."

"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn..."

"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."

"Don't remind me."

The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.

Roxanna waited in the calming dark for what seemed like forever.

She sighed. _What have I gotten myself into?_

Roxanna slowly slipped out into the hallway, looking around for any teachers or Mr. Brunner or Grover, she quickly and soundlessly made her way back to her own dorm.

Only when she got inside her dorm room, Roxanna relaxed. Roxanna's roommate was snoring loudly in her bed, sleeping. Roxanna sighed. Walking over to her bed she replaced her clothes with some pajamas. She crawled in under her sheets, looking into the timeless darkness of the room.

Roxanna began musing over what Grover had said. What did it mean? Were Percy and she in danger? After what felt like eons Roxanna finally came to a sort of conclusion.

Percy was in danger. Roxanna, herself, may or may not have a big role in all this (how reassuring). Something had happened at the winter solstice. The deadline, to make up for whatever was wrong, was the summer solstice. And Mr. Brunner and Grover knew what happened.

She fell asleep the next minute.

The next afternoon, Roxanna was sitting outside of the Latin exam room, waiting for Percy. Her head was filled with the mumbo-jumbo that was Hercules and Pan and famous Nymphs and so on, it just continued. Percy was just outside when Roxanna heard _the-suspicious-man's_– excuse Roxanna if you please, Mr. Brunner's voice called Percy back inside.

For a split second Roxanna was worried Mr. Brunner had found out about the eavesdropping the night before, and considered walking in and pulling Percy out, so he didn't make it worse.

Only gods- _God_ knew how bad his luck was.

But apparently that wasn't the problem.

"Percy," Roxanna heard Mr. Brunner say. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's... it's for the best."

His tone was kind, but the words would still embarrass anyone. Roxanna looked inside, through the door opening. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. She saw Bobofit smirking at Percy and make sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.

Roxanna narrowed her eyes. Bobofit would be in for a hell of a ride when Roxanna got her hands on her.

"Okay, sir." Percy mumbled.

"I mean..." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."

"Right," Percy said, trembling.

"No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say..."

Oh no, Roxanna knew what's coming now. She quickly stood up from her place on the floor and walked swiftly into the room.

"… you're not-" Roxanna cleared her throat, cutting Mr. Brunner off, and pulled Percy out. She gave Mr. Brunner a slight glare and sighed.

Percy was still trembling, but now Roxanna thought it was from anger instead. He knew what Mr. Brunner was about to say.

_Normal._

Roxanna turned on her heels and locked eyes with Percy. She smiled kindly.

"You know it's a good thing not being normal, right? So stop being so tizzy about it. I'm not normal, and I'm happy about it." Roxanna then grinned. "But if you really want, we could always find a circus and be weird together with them."

Percy looked at her for some time, but then said, with a small smile, "Thanks, Sunshine. I appreciate it."

"What are friends for?"

On the last day of the term, Roxanna didn't do that much, her clothes were already packed the day before. So she went over to Percy to see what he was doing.

_Besides_ packing.

The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were all a bunch of rich snobby juvenile delinquents. Their fathers were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities.

Roxanna _hated_ their guts the minuet she saw them. The other reason she hated them was because one of them had tried to ask her out on a date by saying, _"Drop this loser_ (Percy)_ and hang out with the real men. Me and you are dating now, understood?"_

His answer was a kick to the place no man (or boy) would ever want to be kicked.

They asked Percy what he would be doing this summer and he told them he was going back to the city.

"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."

They ignored him after and turned to Roxanna, but just as they did, they paled.

Roxanna smirked. "Why hello, _Vincent_, long time no see."

Vincent gulped and quickly made an excuse to leave with his posse, who all cowered away from Roxanna.

Percy shook his head at with a small disbelieving smile. "What the hell did you _do_ to them?"

Roxanna just laughed joyously. "Secret~!"

Saying goodbye to Grover was going to be a sad, but as it turned out, Roxanna didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as Percy and her, so there they were, together yet again, heading into the city.

During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. Roxanna always knew he was twitchy and would get a tizzy every time someone made a quick motion or something, whenever they were out of the school, but now she knew it was because he was looking out for whatever was after Percy.

Roxanna was looking out of the window, as Percy said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"

Roxanna nearly choked on her own spit and quickly turned around to Percy and Grover, who was so close to jumping out of his seat that it almost made Roxanna laugh.

"Wha-what do you mean?" he stuttered.

Aaaand the urge to laugh was gone and replace by annoyance. Roxanna felt like pouncing on the poor guy, just to see if it would make him spill everything.

"We _know_, Grover, we heard you talking to Mr. Brunner the night before the exam." Roxanna gave Grover a death glare. "So why don't you just spill your guts before _I_ do it _for_ you."

Roxanna was well on her way to be complete driven mad by all the events that had happened. She wanted answers (so excuse her for being snappy), and answers she would get.

One way or another.

Grover paled, but he still said, "H-how much _did _you hear?"

"Oh... not much. What's the summer solstice deadline?" Percy said, while Roxanna scoffed.

He winced. "Look, Percy, Roxanna... I was just worried for you two, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers…"

"Grover-"

"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and…"

_Why do boys always have to be so… difficult?_, Roxanna thought. You could practically _see_ the tick mark appearing on her forehead.

"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar." Percy said.

Grover's ears turned pink.

From his shirt pocket, he fished out two grubby business cards. "Just take these, okay? In case you two need me this summer."

The card was in fancy script, which wasn't really kind on Roxanna's Dyslexia eyes, but she made something out like:

_Grover Underwood_

_Keeper_

_Half-Blood Hill_

_Long Island, New York_

_(800) 009-0009_

"What's Half-"

"Don't say it aloud!" Grover yelped, cutting Percy off. "That's my, um… summer address."

_There's that word again. _Roxanna frowned._ Half-blood. But weren't they…_

"Okay," Percy said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."

Grover nodded. "Or... or if you need me."

"Why would I need you?" Percy said harshly.

Roxanna nudged him in the side, a gesture that clearly said, _"Be nice."_ Even thought Roxanna wasn't doing much of a job on that one herself.

Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, Roxanna, the truth is, I-I kind of have to protect you two."

Percy stared at him, like he couldn't believe him. But for Roxanna it _was_ kind of nerve wreaking, since all year long Percy had gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him, while Roxanna had scared them away or done… _other_ things that scared the hell out of them. And now _he_ was the one protecting _them?_

"Grover," Roxanna said, "What is it _precisely_ that's after us?"

Suddenly there was a huge grinding noise coming from under their feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs.

The driver cursed and steered the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.

After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that they'd all have to get off. Grover, Percy and Roxanna filed outside with everybody else.

They were on a stretch of country road – no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there, but it was actually kind of nice (besides the litter). On the three friends' side of the highway there was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.

The stuff on sale looked delicious: heaping boxes of blood red cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice_. _Weird enough, there were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks Roxanna had ever seen.

The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.

All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.

The even weirder thing was, Roxanna had this nagging feeling that she'd seen them before.

She looked more closely, and saw that they were looking straight at her, thought Percy was standing a little in front of her so it could be him they were looking at, but what's more was that Roxanna remembered where she had seen them before.

Roxanna had seen them once, in a dream, at the time she didn't know what of think of the dream, so she forgot it quickly. But now, she had a felling that it was important.

_Yet another important thing,_ Roxanna thought. _Whoopee._

The old women, in the dream, were trying to cut two strings in a hospital room, a woman was giving birth. But the funny thing was, when the old women tried to cut the first string, it just harmlessly past between the blades of the scissors, not cutting. They tried again, and again, but the string never cut. Roxanna heard them curse in an ancient language – older then anything she'd ever heard before – it almost seemed like magic. But she somehow understood one word.

_Chaos._

The next thing she knew, the baby was born. The baby laid in the woman's arms. It was a girl. She opened her eyes and looked at her mother.

The doctors walked out of the room, giving the woman some time alone with her daughter. That's when the old women took the other string and easily cut it in half.

The woman, who had just given birth, was connected to a heart monitor, which slowly started to speed down. She closed her eyes, a smile on her lips, as her arms became slacker. The baby started crying and the doctors suddenly burst through the doors.

Roxanna had never told anyone of the dream. Ever. Because at the time it didn't make any sense, but now, the puzzle finally came together and clicked.

It was her. The baby was _her_. The old women- the _Fates_ had tried to cut _her_ string…

Roxanna Fleur was never meant to be alive.

Roxanna was shaken out of her train of thought, which she was thankful for, when Grover asked, "Tell me they're not looking at you two. They are, aren't they?"

She looked over at Grover and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.

"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?" Percy joked.

"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."

The Fate in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors – gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears -, the same scissors Roxanna had seen in her dream. She heard Grover catch his breath and some part of her mind wondered if they came back to finish the job.

Wouldn't surprise her.

"We're getting on the bus," Grover told the two others. "Come on."

"What?" Percy said. "It's a thousand degrees in there."

"Come on!'" Grover pried open the door and climbed inside, but the two friends both stayed back.

It was like Roxanna was stuck, she couldn't move.

Across the road, the Fates were still watching them. The middle one cut the yarn, and Roxanna swore she could hear the _snip _across four lanes of traffic.

The other two Fates balled up the electric-blue socks and disappeared. At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.

The passengers cheered, but Roxanna felt like throwing up.

She was right. All those _'myths'._ They are- they're-

Roxanna took a deep breath and exhaled. _No use in freaking out about it._

"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"

Once the three friends got going, Roxanna started feeling unusually hot and her body hurt on the inside, as if all her blood had been replaced by warm acid.

Grover and Percy didn't look much better. Grover was shivering and his teeth were chattering, and Percy looked like he'd caught the flu.

"Grover?" Roxanna asked.

"Yeah?"

"Please tell us the truth."

Grover dabbed his forehead with his shirtsleeve. "Percy, Roxanna, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"

"Three old ladies." Roxanna said, she didn't exactly feel that much enthusiasm about saying _what_ they were. She looked at Grover closely, waiting for him to finally tell them and stop beating around the bush.

"They're not like... Mrs. Dodds, are they?" Percy asked.

Grover's expression was hard to read but he didn't answer, instead, he said, "Just tell me what you saw."

"The middle one took out her scissors, and cut the yarn." Roxanna said.

Grover closed his eyes and made an old gesture, he made a claw like motion over his heart and then pushed it away from himself.

"You saw her snip the cord." He said.

"Yeah. So?" Percy looked confused.

"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time."

Roxanna crocked an eyebrow questioningly at him, all forgotten about her little finding. "What last time?" she asked.

"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth." Grover kept mumbling.

Roxanna got the feeling his last time protecting someone, or whatever, didn't go too well, and shivered.

"Grover," Percy said. "What are you talking about?"

"Let me, at least, walk you two home from the bus station. Promise me."

Grover looked like he was about to cry, so they both promised he could. Roxanna was really starting to freak out now, the Fates had come, her dream, Grover's last time, and now this request. To be honest, all Roxanna wanted to do was crawl into a dark hiding spot and never come out.

"Is this like a superstition or something?" Percy asked.

No answer.

"Grover, that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"

Roxanna unconsciously nodded to herself.

Grover looked at Percy and then Roxanna mournfully, like he was already planning their coffins and flowers to go with them each.

* * *

**See how quick I am? I already got a new chapter up!**

**Review! Please BP**


	3. Don't strip in front of girls, Grover!

**Guys, please remember to vote on the new poll! XD It's about who's gonna trick Percy and Roxanna in Ares' stead. Of course if you've got any suggestions then just PM me about it.**

**DeathmatchDrunkard:** Yep, that's the question. ;3 Thought you won't get the answer until _much_ later, 'cause it wouldn't be fun if you got all the answers right away, now would it? ;P

**ILoveReadingAndWriting**: I'm so glad you like my story that much! :D Therefore, here's another update for ya, Mari! XD

**ER3BUS:** Yes, I know I keep writing Roxanna this and Roxanna that, but that's because it's in her "point of view", so I'll probably keep writing like that (most of the time), but with more of Percy's POV in it here and there. And, well, I guess she _is_ kinda taking a lot of the glory but don't worry I'll give Percy some of it back ;P I kind of made Roxanna as an _what if story?_ So in my story she _will_ be the main protagonist, a kind of anti-hero. While Percy will be the heroic hero (that sounds funny) and he'll still get the "attention", somewhat. If I ever get so far as the other books, then I'll definitely turn it slowly, but surely, more and more so that Roxanna gets the stoplight (if you can say that). But I'll be very careful I don't turn her into a Mary-sue, no one likes them anyway. Thought, I'm really glad that you think my story is 'absolute perfection' (minus the few things you pointed out), so thanks a lot! :3

PS. Sorry if it can out the wrong way with the constructive criticism comment, (^_^") but to be honest, I kind of like it (weird, I know).

PSS. (Does that even exist?) But really, thanks for all the help and good ideas you given me. I greatly appreciate it! ;D So thank you, thank you, thank you! And thank you some more!

PSSS. Sorry for the long re-review (^_^") (not even a word ((or I think so anyway)))

**Guest**: Thank you so much! ;D Here's an update for you, too!

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my OC.**

* * *

_**Chapter 3**_

"_**Lesson 1: Don't strip in front of girls, Grover!"**_

* * *

Okay, no need to lie, therefore, confession time: both Percy and Roxanna ditched Grover as soon as they got to the bus terminal.

Yes, it was rude. But Grover was royally freaking them out, looking at them like they were dead people, muttering "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to be sixth grade?"

Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up, so it made it a lot easier to ditch him. As soon as the two friends got off the bus, Grover made them promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom.

Instead of waiting, Percy and Roxanna got their suitcases, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown. That was also when Percy asked if Roxanna wanted to meet his mother, since Percy's apartment was on the way to the orphanage.

"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First," Percy told the driver.

Percy had told Roxanna about his mother. Her name was Sally Jackson, and her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five. After that, her uncle, who didn't really care about her much, raised her.

Mrs. Jackson wanted to be a novelist, so she spent her high-school days working and working, just so she could get into collage with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer and she had to drop out of school in her senior year, to take care of him. Sadly, he died and Mrs. Jackson was left with no money, no family and no diploma.

"The only good break she ever got, was meeting my dad." Percy said. "Thought, I don't have any memories of him and mom doesn't like talking about him because it makes her sad. She doesn't even have any pictures of him."

Roxanna smiled kindly. "She still loves him."

"Well she's married to smelly Gabe." Percy grumbled sadly.

Roxanna knew that Percy had a step-father, Ugly-something or smelly Gabe, as Percy called him, and she knew that Mrs. Jackson and Percy's father was never married, what she didn't know, was what Percy said next, "He was rich, and important. My mom and he had this secret relationship. Then, one day, he set sail across the Atlantic Ocean on some important journey, and never came back." He finished, somewhat, bitterly.

The two friends finally made it to the little apartment, standing in the hallway. Percy fished out his keys and unlocked the door. He really hopped is mother was home. Percy walked in, Roxanna following behind, and they both took in the sight.

Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.

Gabe had put on weight. He looked like a tuskless walrus in thrift-store clothes. He had about three hairs on his head, all combed over his bald scalp. Which was a very poor try at trying to make him handsome.

Percy was actually surprised Roxanna didn't make a comment about it, but Percy guessed she was too shocked to even blink.

Gabe managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time. Percy didn't know why he hadn't been fired long ago.

Gabe just kept on collecting paychecks, spending the money on cigars that made Percy nauseous, and on beer, of course. Gabe can't live without his "life-giving-juice".

That's when Percy's mother walked into the room, hands filled with the so-called life-giving-juice for the gamblers, and fake smile plastered on her face. She gave the gamblers their beer and turned around, but as she turned she saw Percy standing in the entrants.

Percy's mother grinned brightly, her fake smile gone in a second, and rushed over to give Percy a big bear hug.

"Percy!" his mother beamed. "I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas!" she held him out in arms distance, looking him over for anything she might have missed.

Percy heard Roxanna chuckled behind him.

"Mom!" Percy suddenly felt his ears get hot.

"Alright, alright." Percy's mother turned to Roxanna. "And who may you be?"

"Roxanna." She said, as a faint smile spread across her lips.

"Nice to meet you, Roxanna." Percy's mother turned back to her son. "I have a surprise," she looked excited. "We're going to the beach."

"Hey Sally, how about that bean dip?" Gabe yelled.

"I was on my way, honey. We were just talking about the trip." She told Gabe.

"The trip? You were serious about that?" Gabe narrowed his eyes.

"Of course, he won't let us go." Percy grumbled.

Percy suddenly felt angry and all the joy he felt was simply gone the moment he heard Gabe. Percy's mother and him had wanted to go to Montauk for a long time, but Gabe always said that they didn't have money for it.

"Of course he will," his mom said evenly, as Gabe and her continued to talk about whether they could go or not.

"Perce, I need to go before Mrs. Oswell gets _too_ worried." Roxanna said softly to Percy, so she wouldn't interrupt the two adults.

"Oh, you don't wanna come with us, Sunshine?" Percy asked.

Roxanna shock her head. "I can't, don't have enough money," she held her hand up stopping Percy before he could say anything. "and don't even think about paying for me, Perce. You know how I hate it when people do stuff for me."

Percy nodded his head in understanding. "Alright, I'll see you some other time then."

"We'll be very careful." Percy heard his mother say.

Gabe scratched his double chin. "Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip…"

"I'm on my way, but I just need to get the trash out first."

"I can do that for you, Mrs. Jackson, I'm on my way out, anyway." Roxanna said.

"Oh, why thank you, darling. But no need for the formalities, just call me Sally." Percy's mother said kindly.

Roxanna told her cab driver the address and they drove off to their destination. As Roxanna got closer to the orphanage she could see Mrs. Oswell standing outside, arms crossed but a small warm smile on her features.

Now, old Mrs. Oswell was in her late seventies. She always had her steel grey hair pulled up in a tight bun, a few loose strands of hair on both sides of her face. She had these pale eyes that were green, but at other times they looked like a sparkling grey or even a milky blue. Mrs. Oswell had a grey dress on, with light purple patterns.

The orphanage itself was old and had a renaissance feel to it. The building was positioned in the middle of nowhere; the city a 10 minuets drive from there. Small fields laid around the orphanage.

The cab pulled over, Roxanna paid the driver and got out. She walked back to the trunk and took her baggage, setting it right besides her. As the cab drove off, Roxanna turned to Mrs. Oswell, a big cheeky grin on her face and arms spread out, as if she was just waiting for the hug she knew she'd get.

Mrs. Oswell enveloped Roxanna in a hug, glad she was home again, which Roxanna happily returned. Mrs. Oswell held the girl out in arms distance, a smile still on her face, which turned into a frown when she hit Roxanna upside the head.

"Ow!" Roxanna rubbed the stop that was hit, a pout on her lips. "What was that for?"

"For being late and worrying me, then expecting that I would still give you a hug, you arrogant little child." Mrs. Oswell's frown deepened. Roxanna gulped, but was soon embraced again. "But I did indeed miss you, my little _kobalos_."

Roxanna rolled her eyes at the nickname. The _kobalos _was a sprit from Greek mythology, a mischievous creature fond of tricking and frightening mortals. Greek myths described the _kobaloi_ as "impudent, thieving, droll, idle, mischievous, gnome-dwarfs", and as "funny, little trickster elves" of a similar nature.

Mrs. Oswell had called Roxanna that as long as she could remember. Thought in the start she found it annoying, but now she'd probably find it weird if she _weren't_ called _kobalos_.

"Now lets get your luggage inside, shall we?" Mrs. Oswell said kindly.

Roxanna quickly took her luggage, dismissing any help, and brought them inside the orphanage. The foyer was cozy, with kids running around, chasing each other. There were furniture – sofas, loveseats, coffee tables and so on – all around the place. Soft rugs coated the floor. Everything was adored by warm colors, giving the whole place a homey feeling.

Roxanna stopped inside, just in front of the now closed door.

She smiled and inhaled. "Home, sweet home."

It was first after dinner that something… _unexpected_ happened.

Roxanna was walking down the stairs, leading up to the many rooms and down to the foyer, when she heard banging on the front door.

Curious, Roxanna walked swiftly over to the door and looked through the peephole. It was Grover, he looked anxious, but he wasn't _exactly_ the same Grover Roxanna came to know.

She opened the door.

Giving Grover a deadpan look, she said, "Grover… dude, I think you misunderstood something… It's _shirt_less, not _pant_-less."

Grover blushed beet red.

"Didn't your mama-goat," Roxanna continued, "or something, teach you it wasn't polite to strip in front of girls?"

Grover made a funny noise, like the laugh he would make when he was nervous. "_Bla-ah-ah!_ Come _on_, we have to hurry!" he exclaimed.

"I'll take that as a no."

* * *

Percy was loving every little bit of his vacation.

His mother and he had driven out to a cabin. It was rented, positioned on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. The cabin was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets, and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in.

Percy obviously loved the place.

Percy's mother had taken him to that exact same cabin ever since he was a baby. His mother had been going there way before. She never said why, but Percy knew that the beach was special to her.

It was the place where she had met his father.

When it got dark, they made a fire. The mother and son roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Percy's mother told him stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told him about the books she wanted to write someday, when she had enough money to quit the candy shop.

Eventually the subject turned to Percy's father. Percy never got tried of hearing his mother describe him.

He was tall, handsome and powerful. But also gentle. Apparently Percy had his hair and eyes, a nearly exact copy of his father. Percy was told that his father would have been proud of him, But he couldn't really see how anyone would be proud of a child with a D+ report card, kicked out of school six times the last six years, ADHD and Dyslexia.

"How old was I?" Percy suddenly asked. "When he left, I mean."

Percy's mother watched the dancing flames. "He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin."

"But... he knew me as a baby."

"No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born."

Percy tried to compare that with the fact that he seemed to remember... something about his father. A warm glow. A smile.

Percy had always assumed his father knew him as a baby. His mother had never said it outright, but still, he had felt as if it must be true. Now, to be told that his father had never even seen him... Percy felt angry at his father.

Percy resented his father, and maybe it was stupid, but he truly resented him for going on the ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry his mom. He'd left them, and now they were stuck with Smelly Gabe.

"Are you going to send me away again?" Percy asked his mother. "To another boarding school?"

She pulled a marshmallow from the fire.

"I don't know, honey." Her voice was heavy, and she looked down at the fire with sadness. "I think ... I think we'll have to do something."

"Because you don't want me around?" But Percy regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth.

His mother's eyes teared up. She took Percy's hand, squeezing it tightly. "Oh, Percy, no. I-I have to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away."

Her words reminded Percy of what Mr. Brunner had said, that it was best for him to leave Yancy.

"Because I'm not normal," He said.

"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. Your friend, Roxanna, is she normal?" Percy's mother asked, changing the subject.

"No, but-"

"And does she think it's a bad thing?"

Percy suddenly remembered his talk with Roxanna. "No, she doesn't. Actually, she likes it."

"See? It's not a bad thing not being normal." Percy's mother smiled, but then frowned lightly with a sigh. "But I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I really thought you'd finally be safe."

"Safe from what?"

She met Percy's eyes, and a flood of memories came back to him. All the weird, scary things that had ever happened to him, some of which he'd tried to forget. During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked him on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed Percy when he told them that under the man's broad-brimmed hat, he only had one eye, right in the middle of his head.

Before that, a very early memory. Percy was in preschool, and a teacher accidentally put him down for a nap in a cot, which a snake had slithered into. His mother screamed when she came to pick him up and found Percy playing with a limp, scaly snake he'd somehow managed to strangle to death with his meaty toddler hands.

In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and Percy was forced to move.

Percy knew he should've told his mother about the old ladies at the fruit stand and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum, about his weird hallucination that he and Roxanna had sliced their math teacher into dust with two swords. But He couldn't make himself tell her. Percy had a strange feeling the news would end their trip to Montauk, and he didn't want that.

"I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could," Percy's mother said. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option, Percy, the place your father wanted to send you. And I just... I just can't stand to do it."

"My father wanted me to go to a special school?"

Percy didn't know how to feel about that. Angry? Happy?

"Not a school," she said softly. "A summer camp."

Percy felt dizzy. Why would his father, who hadn't even stayed around long enough to see him be born, talk to his mother about a summer camp? And if it was so important, why hadn't she ever mentioned it before?

"I'm sorry, Percy," she said, seeing the look in his eyes. "But I can't talk about it. I-I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good."

"For good? But if it's only a summer camp ..."

She turned toward the fire, and Percy knew from her expression that if he asked her any more questions she would start to cry.

That same exact night Percy had a vivid dream.

It was storming on the beach, and Percy felt odd, like when you've just woken up from a bad sleep. His whole body was groggily, and it left a numb feeling in his being.

That's when Percy noticed two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf.

The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagles wings. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.

Percy ran toward them, he somehow knew he had to stop them from killing each other, but he was running in slow motion. Percy knew he was too late when he saw the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse's wide eyes.

He screamed, _No!_

Percy woke with a start.

He still felt groggy and outside, there really was a storm, which didn't help Percy to calm down. It was the same kind of storm that cracked trees and blew down houses. But there was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery.

With the next thunderclap, his mother woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, "Hurricane."

Percy knew it was crazy. Either that, or he had lost it. Long Island never had hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have somehow forgotten that little detail. Over the roar of the wind, Percy heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made his hair stand on end.

It was nearly as bad as the voice in his dream, but then Percy remembered it and quickly disagreed. The dream voice was worse.

The dream voice was _much_ worse.

Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice, like someone yelling, pounding on their cabin door.

Percy's mother sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock.

Grover stood framed in the doorway against a background of pouring rain, thought he wasn't… he wasn't exactly Grover. Roxanna stood to his left, her vest on and hood pulled over her head.

And someone else, a stranger, stood on Grover's right. The boy must have been 14, or really close to it. He had very dark brown hair, which looked almost black drenched in the rain, and he had a tan that was a couple shades darker then Percy's own. The boy was tall and lean, and looked like an athlete, but was still muscular.

But what Percy found the strangest, was his eyes. They were gold, like honey, straight from a bee's hive.

Percy kind of found the other handsome, in a very cold way, like he was made purely out of ice. The boy's face was stoic, and he was wearing all black. Black jacket, black T-shirt, black jeans, black shoes, black everything.

"Searching all night," Grover gasped. "What were you thinking?"

Percy's mother looked at her son in terror, but she wasn't scared of Grover, more so, of why he'd come.

"Percy," she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"

Percy was frozen, looking at Grover, but he saw from the corner of his eye, Roxanna flinched slightly. If it was from the cold or from what his mother had said, he didn't know. Percy just couldn't cope with what he was seeing.

_"O Zeu kai alloi theoi!" _Grover yelled. "It's right behind me! Didn't you _tell _her?"

Something in Percy's mind must have been a translator, because last time he checked, Percy couldn't understand Ancient Greek. Or even knew how it sounded.

But Percy was too shocked to register any of that. He was too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten there with the other two in the middle of the night. Because Grover didn't have his pants on, and where his legs should be... where his legs should be...

Percy's mother looked at Percy sternly and talked in a tone she'd never used before: _"Percy. _Tell me _now_!"

Percy stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand and Mrs. Dodds. His mother stared at him, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning.

She grabbed her purse, tossed Percy his rain jacket, and said, "Get to the car. All of you. _Go_!_"_

Roxanna stood in between the stranger and Percy, looking as if she was about to introduce the two. But that couldn't be…

"You two haven't met, have you?" Roxanna didn't wait for an answer. "Perce, Daimon Akilles. Akilles, Percy Jackson." She introduced the two.

"Errhh, hey?"

Daimon nodded his head in greeting, his expression still stoic.

Grover, who had run for the Camaro, stopped, turned around and yelled, "We have to hurry, Rox! We don't have time for introductions. How can you seriously introducing them at a time like this?"

"Come on, Grover." Roxanna said, rolling her eyes. "We have to hurry, we don't have time for your stupid questions." She ran to the car, dragging Grover with her so he would start running.

But Grover wasn't running, exactly. He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about a muscular disorder in his legs made sense to Percy. He understood how Grover could run so fast and still limp when he walked.

Because where his feet should be, there were no feet. There were cloven hooves.

* * *

**And there you all go! Chapter 3! XD Sorry if you think it's too short (^_^") But the next will be longer! And better, ****hopefully!**

**Please remember to review ('cause I love reading them, who doesn't?), and check out the poll that I put up.**

**Until next time! ;)**


	4. Jump to the side, young grasshopper

**A/N Sorry for the wait, but my homework suddenly caught up with me, I had to go to a psychologist, too (yep, I am **_**sick**_**… haha, just kidding, I just have some minor problems and have to figure out what they **_**precisely**_** are), so I had a lot to think about and I got caught up in my reading (^-^") Yeah, I know, bad excuses. Sorry again!**

**Remember to vote on my poll please! ;P**

**Thank you for the alerts and favs and reviews!**

**Lvl-Zer0: **Thank you for the donut (even if it was imaginary, then it was best imaginary donut ever), darling! I'm so happy you like my story and hopefully will continue to follow it ;P I'll do my very best to update regularly. And as thanks for the awesome donut I hereby give you an even awesome'er (imaginary) donut! Hope you like!

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my OCs.**

* * *

_**Chapter 4**_

"_**Jump to the side, young grasshopper. Jump."**_

* * *

The four children and one adult tore through the night along dark country roads. The four children were all crammed into the back in the hurry, so it ended up with Roxanna sitting/lying on the three boys.

The excuse she used? They were 'gentlemen', and gentlemen were always nice to women or girls no matter what.

But then again, Roxanna _did_ follow it up with a glare, daring them to say anything else.

Wind slammed against the Camaro. Rain licked the windshield. Thought Roxanna should have been worried that maybe Sally couldn't see anything for the rain, she wasn't. She was way more focused on the speed they were going at, and trying to enjoy it for as long as it lasted.

Point was, even thought it didn't seem like it, one of the things Roxanna loved was speed. It was dangerous, fast and gave one an adrenalin kick. What more could you want?

Sally kept her foot on the gas, much to Roxanna's joy. Every time there was a flash of lightning, she saw Percy looking at Grover, disbelief written all over his face. But then his eyes flickered to Daimon.

"Umm… how did… you all meet?" Percy finally settled for.

Roxanna couldn't help but snort at Grover's small, embarrassed blush, and Daimon's almost nonexistent frown.

"Grover _literally_ ran into Akilles when we were on our way to find you." She said, as Grover nearly shrunk down in his seat.

Daimon's frown deepened. "Why do you keep calling me Akilles? It's my surname."

Roxanna looked at Daimon from where she sat, her expression blank.

Percy actually knew the answer, surprisingly enough. When Roxanna and he first met, before they were finished with their rather failed project, she called him Jackson all the time. It was only after the project that she started to call him Percy. But the reason behind the surname-calling, was that Roxanna didn't trust – found that specific person suspicious –, like or respect that person. Or she just didn't consider them a friend.

She smirked coolly, but didn't answer. Instead, she looked out the front window and stayed silent.

"So, Grover, you and my mom... know each other?" Percy said, breaking the silence.

Grover's eyes darted up to the rearview mirror and back, even though there were no cars behind them. "Not exactly," he said. "I mean, we've never met in person. But she knew I was watching you."

"You sound like a stalker with hooves." Roxanna said bluntly, which made him huff.

"Watching me?" Percy said, ignoring Roxanna's comment.

"And Roxanna, too. I was keeping tabs on you two. Making sure you were okay. But I wasn't faking being your friend," Grover added hastily. "I _am _your friend."

"Urm... what _are _you, exactly?"

"He's half goat, Perce." Roxanna said. "What else does he look like?"

"What? I thought he was half donkey-"

"_Blaa-ha-ha._" Grover bleated, and then cried. "Goat!"

"Huh?"

"I'm a _goat_ from the waist down! There are satyrs who would trample you under their hoof for such an insult!"

"Whoa… A satyr? Like those from Mr. Brunner's… myths?" Percy asked dumbfound.

"They're not _myths_, Percy. They're real." The words left a bitter taste in Roxanna's mouth, because that meant the three old ladies were real, too.

"Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a _myth, _Percy?" Grover added, and Roxanna couldn't help but winch a little, which Daimon frowned at. "Was Mrs. Dodds a myth?"

"So you _admit _there was a Mrs. Dodds!" Percy said with triumph.

"Not the point." Roxanna moaned.

Grover raised an eyebrow. "Of course."

"Then why-"

"The less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract," Grover said, like it made perfect sense. "We put Mist over the humans' eyes. We hoped you two would think the Kindly One was a hallucination." Grover muttered under his breath, "That kind of went straight out the window."

"'Mist'?" Roxanna frowned at the word.

"It's a kind of magical force that twist mortal's sight from seeing… _'mythical'_ beings." Daimon said.

Roxanna had almost forgotten he was there; he'd been so quiet. But she nodded nonetheless.

Grover sighed. "But it was no use, the two of you were starting to realize who you were."

"Who I- wait a minute, what do you mean?" Percy asked confused, while Roxanna said, "You make it sound like it's a _bad_ thing."

The weird bellowing noise rose up again somewhere behind them, closer than before, which made Roxanna want to turn around to see if she could get a glimpse, but she resisted the urge. She had a bad feeling about all this, because whatever was chasing them was still on their trail. _Not_ a good sign!

"Percy," Sally said, "there's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you three to safety."

"Safety from what? Who's after me?"

"Oh, nobody much," Grover said, like it was no big deal. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions."

"How can you be so sure?" Roxanna asked, with well-hidden frustration, before Sally could say anything. All this time she'd tried and convinced herself that it _was_ someone else, so getting it confirmed that it _was_ him didn't exactly sit that well with her. "What if it's someone else?"

"It can't be anyone else." Grover whispered. He then turned his attention to Sally. "Could you drive faster, Mrs. Jackson, please?"

Sally made a hard left. They swerved onto a narrower road, racing past darkened farmhouses and wooded hills and PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES signs on white picket fences.

"Where are we going?" Percy asked.

"The summer camp I told you about." Sally's voice was tight, and Roxanna could practically _feel_ the fear flowing off her. "The place your father wanted to send you."

"The place you didn't want me to go."

"Please, dear," Sally begged. "This is hard enough. Try to understand. You're in danger."

"Because some old ladies cut yarn."

Roxanna frowned, wincing again slightly (which, again, didn't go unnoticed by Daimon), remembering what she saw. "That was the Fates, Perce." She said, barely containing the dreadfulness in her voice.

"Precisely." Grover said. "Do you know what it means – the fact they appeared in front of you two? They only do that when you're about to..." Roxanna tensed lightly. "when someone's about to die."

"Whoa. You said 'you'." Percy said, slightly frantic.

"No I didn't. I said 'someone'." Came Grover's ever-smart answer.

Despite it all, Roxanna found herself rubbing her temples. _Boys._

"You meant 'you'. As in _me._" Percy continued.

"I meant _you, _like 'someone'. Not you, _you._" Grover desperately tried to convince Percy.

"Boys!" Sally said.

She pulled the wheel hard to the right, and despite Roxanna's tries, she looked at the figure. The same figure Sally had swerved to avoid, a dark fluttering shape now lost behind them in the storm. But the weird – and bad – thing was, that Roxanna had a nagging feeling that she knew it. Knew _precisely_ what it was.

Roxanna swallowed the lump in her throat. "Was that…?" she let the question hang.

"We're almost there," Sally said, ignoring her question. "Another mile. Please. Please. Please."

Weirdly enough, Roxanna saw Percy and Daimon leaning forward in the car, as if wanting them to arrive. Even thought they didn't know were _there_ was. That's when she found herself leaning forward as well and couldn't help but force herself to lean back, with a frown.

_This 'place'…,_ she thought, biting her lower lip and pushing a nonexistent strand of air behind her left ear._ It's something weird all right._

Outside, rain and darkness filled the empty countryside of Long Island, but this darkness didn't calm Roxanna like she thought it would. It made her fidgety and nervous, something she hated. She found herself thinking back to Mrs. Dodds, who had been so sure that Percy had done something wrong.

Then she thought about Chiron... who probably had something to do with all of this, but even thought Roxanna found him extremely suspicious, he was still the closest person to a father figure she'd ever had.

There was a blinding flash, a jaw-rattling _boom!, _and their car exploded.

Roxanna felt a searing pain through her body, as she felt a weird weightlessness, but crushing at the same time. Some small but fast jolts of, what felt like, white hot metal went through her veins. And then it all disappeared, as the car stilled.

"Percy!" Sally shouted.

"I'm okay..." he said. "Sunshine, Grover, Daimon, you all okay?"

Daimon held the foot of his palm to his forehead and blinked a couple of times. "Fine." he said curtly.

Roxanna straightened up, stretching her back in the process. She shook her head from side to side, shaking off the daze. She wasn't dead. That was a good thing at least.

"I'm alive if that's what you're asking about." Roxanna gave a lopsided smile to the two boys.

Luckily the car hadn't exploded. They had swerved into a ditch. The driver's-side doors were wedged in the mud. The roof had ripped open like wet paper and rain was pouring in.

Lightning. But how?

They had easily been blasted right off the road. Next to Percy in the backseat was a big lump of…

"Grover!" Percy yelled, as he shook Grover, but he didn't wake up.

Roxanna crawled over to her friend and looked at the state Grover was in. Blood trickled from the side of his mouth and he looked to have a nasty lump on his head, which was going to give him one Hades of a headache tomorrow.

Then he groaned "Food," and Roxanna knew he was okay (as okay as one came be after being in a car crash), but he still needed to wake up…

So she slapped him.

_That should wake him up_, Roxanna thought.

And true enough, Grover's eyes fluttered open. "I'm okay, I'm alive." He said, but then rubbed his cheek – the one Roxanna had slapped. "Ow."

Maybe she hit him a _little_ too hard…

"Children," Sally said, "you have to..." Her voice faltered.

Roxanna looked back. In a flash of lightning, through the mud-spattered rear windshield, she saw a figure lumbering toward them on the shoulder of the road. She held a shiver back, but couldn't stop the eerie feeling of her skin crawling like ants, at the sight before her.

It was a huge dark silhouette, like the guy was a pro wrestler. His top half was bulky and fuzzy, and it looked like he had _horns_. In all honesty, Roxanna could tell what he was in her sleep.

He was probably one of the most famous, or rather _in_famous creatures of all.

Percy swallowed hard. "Who is-"

"Get out of the car." Sally said, deadly serious. "All of you."

Sally threw herself against the driver's-side door. It was jammed shut in the mud. Percy tried his. Stuck too.

Percy looked up desperately at the hole in the roof. It might've been an exit, but the edges were sizzling and smoking.

"The passenger's side!" Daimon somewhat yelled.

"You three," Sally said. "you have to run. Do you see that big tree?"

_"What?" _Percy frowned in confusion.

Another flash of lightning, and through the smoking hole in the roof Roxanna saw the tree Sally meant: a huge, White House Christmas tree-sized pine at the crest of the nearest hill.

"That's the property line," Grover added. "Come on, you three!"

"Get over that hill and you'll see a big farmhouse down in the valley." Sally said again. "Run and don't look back. Yell for help. Don't stop until you reach the door."

Roxanna had a sinking filling in her stomach.

"Mom, you're coming too." Percy said.

Sally's face was pale, her eyes sadder then anything Roxanna had seen before.

"No!" Percy shouted. "You _are _coming with me."

Roxanna looked back again, the man was closer now and kept coming toward them, making grunting and snorting noises. They had to hurry.

Roxanna got a better look of him now, not that she wanted one. The man's hands were huge and meaty, which were swinging at his sides. He was seven feet tall, no sweat, his arms and legs like something from a wrestler on steroids, with his bulging biceps and triceps and a bunch of other 'ceps. He wore no clothes except underwear, bright white Fruit of the Looms underwear. Which would've normally looked so funny that Roxanna would've gotten cramps from laughing so hard, except that the top half of his body was terrifying.

Coarse brown hair started at about his belly button and got thicker as it reached his shoulders. His neck was a mass of muscle and fur leading up to his enormous head, which had a snout as long as Roxanna's arm, if not longer, snotty nostrils with a gleaming brass ring, cruel black beady eyes, and then there were the horns.

Can't forget the razor sharp horns, now can we?

"Sally," Roxanna said urgently. "Percy won't move his ass if you're not coming too."

"I can't cross the property line." Sally told them.

"We'll figure it out then," Roxanna said. "But right now we need to move!"

Meanwhile the argument, Daimon had kicked the passenger's side door open into the rain and climbed out with Grover. He stuck his head in again, tired of the little process they were making… or _not_ making.

"Come on, he's getting closer!" he yelled.

Daimon didn't wait for an answer, and pulled Percy out by the arm roughly. Roxanna quickly followed suit, thought Daimon was much more gentle with her.

Why, she didn't know.

Sally got out by herself, and together they all started to stumble uphill through cold, wet, waist-high grass. Roxanna saw Daimon looking back at her with… was that worry? She ran up beside Daimon, as he averted his gaze.

"Why is Ha-"

"Don't!" Daimon shushed her. "Names have power."

And that was something Roxanna made sure to remember – even to this day.

"Alright, but why is the Underworld god after us then?"

Roxanna saw an unknown emotion flash through Daimon's eyes, as he tensed so lightly that she nearly thought that it was a trick of the light, or, well, _darkness_. But then he became stoic again, and said, "I…" he looked back shortly, anger light up in his eyes, but he was still stoic as ever. "Maybe your friend did something to anger him."

The pine tree was still way too far – a hundred yards uphill at least.

Roxanna glanced behind her at Percy, and said, "No, Percy haven't done anything wrong… or, I think so."

The bull-man hunched over theirs car, snuffling and nuzzling the windows. Roxanna frowned at this, they were only about fifty feet away, but soon her eyes widened in realization.

"His sight sucks, doesn't it?" she said.

Daimon nodded. "And hearing. He goes by smell, but I'm sure he'll find us soon enough."

As if on cue, the bull-man bellowed in rage. He picked up the Camaro by the torn roof, the chassis creaking and groaning.

He raised the car over his head and threw it down the road. It slammed into the wet asphalt and skidded in a shower of sparks for about half a mile before coming to a stop. The gas tank exploded.

"Not a scratch, Gabe said." Roxanna heard Percy say.

She smirked, and said, "Karma's a bitch to those who deserve it." which resulted in Percy chuckling a "Oh well," out.

"Children," Sally said sternly so they could all hear her. "When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way – directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?"

Roxanna tuned the rest of the conversation out, as she wondered why her ring was so warm all of a sudden. She looked down at it, as she did her eyes widen, because it almost looked like the skull on the ring was grinning!

Another bellow of rage, and the bull-man started tromping uphill.

He'd smelled them.

The pine tree was only a few more yards, but the hill was getting steeper and slicker, and everyone was stumbling around, as they tried to run up.

The bull-man closed in. Another few seconds and he'd be on top of them.

Sally must've been exhausted, but she said nonetheless, "Go, Percy! Separate! Remember what I said."

Roxanna could see that Percy didn't want to split up, but Roxanna had a sinking feeling that Sally was right – it was probably their _only_ chance. Percy sprinted to the left, but as Roxanna was about to follow Daimon pulled her the other way, with Sally and Grover.

Percy was alone.

He turned and stood in front of the creature, who glowered down at him. The bull-man's black eyes glowed with hate. He reeked like rotten meat, which Roxanna couldn't help but wrinkled her nose at.

He lowered his head and charged, razor-sharp horns aimed straight at Percy's chest.

The sudden fear in Percy's stomach made him want to bolt, but that wouldn't work. Percy could never outrun this thing. He looked over to Roxanna who was silently telling him to wait, with her unusual eyes, otherwise it would get pretty ugly, pretty soon.

So Percy held his ground, and at the last moment, he jumped to the side, as he did Roxanna released a sigh of relief.

The bull-man stormed past like a freight train, then bellowed with frustration and turned, but not toward Percy this time, toward his mother, who was standing besides Grover.

Daimon pulled Roxanna slightly away from Sally and Grover.

They had all reached the crest of the hill. Down the other side Roxanna could see a valley, just as Sally had said, and the lights of a farmhouse glowing yellow through the rain. But that was half a mile away. They would only be able to make it if they somehow learned to fly or teleport.

The bull-man grunted, pawing the ground. He kept eyeing Sally, who was now retreating slowly downhill, back toward the road, trying to lead the monster away from the others.

"Run, Percy!" she told him. "I can't go any farther. Run!"

Roxanna saw Percy just standing there, frozen in fear, as the monster charged his mother. Roxanna was about to call out to him but the words where lost in her throat, as she saw Sally try to sidestep, as she'd told them to do, but the monster's hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck as she tried to get away.

He'd learned his lesson.

The bull-man lifted Sally as she struggled, kicking and pummeling the air.

"Mom!" Percy shouted.

Sally caught Percy's eyes, managed to choke out one last word: "Go!"

Then, with an angry roar, the monster closed his fists around Sally's neck, and she dissolved before their eyes, melting into light, a shimmering golden form, as if she were a holographic projection. A blinding flash, and she was simply… gone.

Roxanna finally found the will to move, as she heard Percy's heartbroken shout. "NO!"

She ran as fast as she could, standing by Percy's side, Roxanna somehow knew what to do. Her hand moved on its own, towards her ring, and then turned it. At first, Roxanna had no idea why she did that, but then the ring seemed to transform and forth sprung a sword.

The sword was blacker then nightmares it self, and was three feet long. The one-edged sword was concave on the lower part of the blade, but convex on the top. The hilt was formed like a hook and made of dark metallic silver, wrapped in black leather. The hook-shaped hilt was stylized like a skeleton, made of light whitish silver and at the end of the hilt was a skull – a _grinning_ skull – with onyx eyes.

The sword felt so right in her hands, like it was made for her and no one else.

Roxanna knew what kind of sword it was – a falcata. It was a Greek sword, used in ancient Greece, and very similar to the kopis.

Roxanna saw Percy practically glowing with anger, but her mind was more focused on the bull-man who was now boring down at the two friends. Roxanna's grip tightened around her new sword. To think that she's had that ring for so long, and never found out about its little "feature".

The bull-man charged.

His meaty hands shoot out to capture the two friends, but Roxanna pushed Percy back.

"Run, Perce! I have a weapon, you don't!" Roxanna yelled and ran forward.

"Roxanna, don't!" Daimon yelled, as he saw Roxanna run.

She stabbed at the bull-man's right hand, making him roar in agony, and sliced upward toward his elbow. The bull-man grabbed his wound with his other hand, falling down on one knee. As he did Roxanna quickly cut off one horn, so he wouldn't be able to stab anyone with it. The horn fell down with a loud _bonk!_, the bull-man gave a mighty roar and Roxanna would've covered her ears if it wasn't for the sword in her hands. The bull-man sniffed the air but soon stood up again.

He charged at Percy.

Roxanna didn't think much about it, looking back at the time she knew it was one of the worst ideas she had ever had. But when you're in the moment you don't exactly think it over that much, you just do it because there isn't time. She had to protect her friend.

She ran forward and pushed Percy out of the way, just as the bull-man flung his oversized hand at him, but instead of hitting Percy, the bull-man hit Roxanna dead on.

Roxanna was flung into a tree, losing her sword in the process. She heard a sickening-cracking sound, as she hit and pain shoot through her body. Roxanna bit her teeth together, gritting teeth at imaginary people, as she tried to silence a scream. Instead, a muffled sounding gasp was heard.

"Roxanna!" the three boys yelled in union.

Said girl fell down on the ground with a _dunk_, and new pain shoot through her. Lying on her side, she tried to roll over, but ended up with stopping because of the agony. Roxanna opened her eyes, everything was blurred, as a kind of carsickness ran thought her, black spots dancing joyously before her vision.

Roxanna tried to answer the worried calling, but whenever she did, she felt nauseousness wash over her.

Roxanna saw a blurry shape, which looked like Percy, waving a red blanket or jacket around.

She heard another call, not meant for her, but she couldn't make it out, as she felt like she was falling in and out of consciousness. In truth, Roxanna wasn't near unconsciousness, but her brain seemed too slow to process everything, it was simply too fast. One minuet, Percy was on the ground, the next he was on top of the enormous dark blur, the bull-man, clinging to the remaining horn for dear life.

The bull-man looked like one of those dangerous bulls at a rodeo, only going forward and never back.

Roxanna saw the bull-man getting closer, but just as he did she heard a loud _snap_, and his other horn was gone.

The bull-man screamed and flung Percy through the air. He landed flat on his back in the grass. It looked like his head smacked against a rock. When he sat up, Roxanna could see his eyes going in and out of focus. He had the horn in his hands, a ragged bone weapon the size of a knife.

The bull-man charged, yet again.

Percy rolled to one side and came up kneeling. As the bull-man barreled past, Percy drove the broken horn straight into his side, right up under his furry rib cage.

The bull-man roared in agony and pain. He flailed, clawing at his chest, then began to disintegrate. But not like Sally, in a flash of golden light, but like Mrs. Dodds had, dust falling apart, blown away by the wind.

The bull-man was gone.

Roxanna smiled, despite it all, she couldn't help but fell a little proud that Percy beat the monster, but the smile quickly turned into a grimace when she felt an axe splitting headache. That's when she noticed the rain had stopped. The storm still rumbled threateningly, thought only in the distance.

The same darkness that Roxanna so calmingly welcomed engulfed her vision, leaving her with only a shout of her name before she was pulled into dreamland.

* * *

**Remember to review, they make me really happy even if they are short! And if you, yourself, are writing stories then you know what I mean and how appreciated reviews are! ;P**

**'Till next time!**


	5. Setting things straight and answers!

**A/N IMPORTANT!**

**Okay, I've been asked if this was a Percy/OC fanfic, so I just want to clarify some things. To be honest my story was a P/OC in the start, but then someone gave me the fantastic idea of throwing an extra person into the story. Then I came up with the idea of having a bit of drama between Percy, Roxanna and Daimon, and then have the readers choose whom Roxanna would end up with.**

**I'll probably put a poll up but first **_**much**_** later, maybe halfway or at the end of the story or… something.**

**So if you have a fav, any ideas regarding the trio or if you just want it to be Percy/OC then tell me. But I will still put the drama there, so it'll be a bit more interesting, since it wouldn't be fun if everything went perfectly.**

**It rarely is.**

**DeathmatchDrunkard: **I'm so glad you like the sword! Because I was like, "Don't want a sword that looks like any other sword!" So I pretty much used a bunch of time searching for ancient Greek swords (^_^") Good I'm not the only one who thinks it would be a bit of a overkill if Roxanna could beat everyone. Oh yeah, and about Daimon… well, you just got your answer up top _**but**_ there's something more to it that I won't tell, otherwise I'll ruin it all. Don't wanna do that! ;P

**Anaklusmos14**: Why thank you, darling! :D *said in a very British accent* (by the way, don't you just love British accents? I know I do).

**Percy Waterblue: **Well, you got your answer up top ;)

**Lvl-ZeR0:** Ha! You'll never find my secret ingredient! Muwhahahahahahahaha *cough cough* *clears throat*… sorry (^_^") I just had to try that, at least once… Anyway, thank you and I'll promise (both you and myself) that no matter what I'll do my very best to finish this story.

**Gr3yFate:** Thank you! And don't worry too much about Daimon's last name I've got something planned for it ;P And yes, Daimon is 14. I don't know why, I just wanted him to be older then the rest, you know? About if it's Pexanna (thank you for making that name, by the way) or Percabeth, look up. But I can tell you this, even if Roxanna and Percy don't end up together, I will not make it Percabeth. Period. Sorry, but I've seriously had enough of it. Percabeth is okay if it's in the books (or reading the books fanfiction), but I hate Percabeth in fanfiction. And that's probably just me being weird (^_^")

**We're finally at the famous Camp Half-Blood! So sit back and enjoy! ;P**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my OCs.**

* * *

_**Chapter 5**_

"_**Setting things straight and getting answers!"**_

* * *

The first time Roxanna awoke, she woke with a start. A cloak of darkness covered everything, and instinctively Roxanna calmed down from her nightmare.

"Just a silly dream." She whispered to herself.

She'd dreamt that she had seen Grover with hooves, met a guy called Daimon, driven a car with Percy and his mother, the latter then got killed by the Minotaur. Roxanna remembered that she tried to kill the monster, but then ended up pushing Percy out of the way and got hit by an oversized hand, which knocked her out a little while after.

Wait…

Had Percy broken the Minotaur's horn off? What a weird dream.

Roxanna looked around, pulling the blanket tighter around her as she did so, and noticed that she wasn't in her room in the orphanage. This room looked like an infirmary, and Roxanna was pretty sure that she would've winced from all the white in the room if it had been day. There was a silhouette of a man, who looked like he was asleep, sitting in a chair in the corner.

Roxanna rubbed her eyes, as they adjusted to the lack of light, and tossed her legs over the bed, silently. She pushed the warm blanket off her and was immediately met with colder air. Roxanna rubbed her arms, out of habit from when she used to get up at Yancy. The mornings there always drew a small gasp from her lips whenever she left the warmth of her bed.

Their heater sucked.

Her hands then fell onto her lap, as Roxanna thought with much sadness, _It wasn't a dream. That means Sally really is…_ She couldn't get herself to finish the thought. She _refused_ to believe that Sally was…

Roxanna clenched her fists, as her jaw tensed, like the rest of her slight aching body. That's when she noticed her ring on the nightstand, and looked down at her right hand – the same hand that should've normally been wearing her precious ring, but it didn't.

Quickly reaching over, Roxanna took her ring and put it on, feeling relief wash over her with a quiet sigh. Roxanna looked around again, until her eyes landed on the window. Weighing her objects in her mind, she stood on wobbling legs, bare feet touching the cold wooden floor. She used the bed to steady herself.

In one rather swift move (for a just-awoken-person-with-injuries, that is), Roxanna moved over to the window, pushed it open and crawled out, but not without noticing the one amused wink she got.

Standing outside, still barefooted, Roxanna felt the icy chill of the night. She didn't want to wake anyone up – or met them for that sake –, and since she couldn't go back to sleep because of her mind trying to race with the wind, she (technically) sneaked out.

The grass Roxanna stood on was softer than she would had thought, the air fresher than the one in any city. Dew clung to the small grass blades and she spread her toes, wiggling them slightly.

Roxanna automatically moved towards the hill that had a big Christmas-ish pine tree. She couldn't really make out anything else of the camp-like place, other than the tree. When she arrived she sat down with her back against the hard bark, overlooking the camp.

Roxanna suddenly felt very tired, her eyelids dropping slightly. Her breathing became deeper and deeper, as her eyelids finally closed. The tree swayed in the wind, the branches surrounded Roxanna as best they could.

The second time Roxanna awoke, someone was shaking her, calling her name softly.

"Roxanna." Said the familiar stoic voice. "Wake up, sleepyhead." Roxanna could practically _hear_ the voice smirking.

Said girl opened her eyes, but immediately held a hand up to bloke the sharp light, as she let out a sleepy groan.

"I can't believe you fell asleep against a tree." Daimon said with hidden amusement.

Roxanna's eyes slowly adjusted to the light and she removed her hand. Daimon was smirking down at her. She gave him a glare, as she stood up, mumbling with a slight blush of embarrassment, "I was tired."

"Well you better get back before the others get too worried."

"Yeah yeah," Roxanna yawned, stretching a bit. "I'm sure no one's gonna get their panties in a bunch."

As Roxanna walked down the hill she got a much better view of the camp.

A beautiful meadow spread across fresh green hills in the distance. The breeze smelled like strawberries, which made Roxanna smile. She loved strawberries, and, of course, cherries and pomegranates. She kept her gaze at the meadow. There were groves of trees, a winding stream, acres of strawberries spread out under the blue sky. Rolling hills surrounded the valley and Roxanna could see that the tallest one, the one she stood on, was the one with the huge pine tree on top.

And it looked absolutely beautiful in the sunlight.

Roxanna had an idea of being on the north shore of Long Island, because on one side of the big farmhouse, the valley marched all the way up to the water, which glittered about a mile in the distance. The farmhouse was about four stories tall, sky blue with white trim, with a brass eagle weather vane on top, which glittered in the sun.

The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture: an open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, a circular arena. But they all looked like they were just built, their white marble columns sparkled in the sun.

In a nearby sandpit, a dozen high school-age kids and satyrs played volleyball. Canoes glided across a small lake. Kids in kill-me-orange T-shirts, with the words CAMP HALF-BLOOD on it, were chasing each other around a cluster of weird cabins nestled in the woods. Some shot targets at an archery range. Others rode horse with wings down a wooded trail.

"Pegasi." Roxanna whispered, without realizing.

"Did you say something?" Daimon said, snapping Roxanna out of her musings.

She shook her head. "No, nothing."

As Roxanna got closer, she saw two men sitting at the end of the porch, which was wrapped around the farmhouse. One of them was Mr. Brunner, and at that Roxanna _knew_ he had been in on the so-called "secret". The other looked like a bigger version of a cherub, but middle-aged, with a red nose, big watery eyes and curly hair so black it seemed almost purple. A Diet Coke in hand.

He wore a tiger-striped Hawaiian shirt, and Roxanna got a glimpse of purple running shoes, thought she got the feeling that he'd never run once in his life. If Roxanna were to picture the man anyplace it would be at a bar, or something of the sort, ordering drink after drink.

The two were playing a card game when Roxanna saw a blond-haired boy run out of the farmhouse with a panicked look, his arms waving rather comically about, and he shouted, "She's gone! She isn't lying in her bad anymore!"

The boy looked to be about 12, with sky blue eyes and light brown or dirty blonde hair, Roxanna couldn't really decide. An in between of the two, most likely. He, like every other kid, was wearing the kill-me-orange T-shirt.

**(A/N Okay, I have no idea of what Lee Fletcher looks like or how old he is, so I'm sorry if it doesn't fit you're view.)**

"Argus was watching over her the whole time." Mr. Brunner frowned. "You must have looked in the wrong room."

"No! I was in the right room! Argus was there, too!"

"Would you quiet down?" the cherub said annoyed. "She's right there." He gestured to Roxanna, who was standing in front of the porch with a raised eyebrow.

Mr. Brunner and the blond turned to look at said girl, and Roxanna couldn't help but smirk just a little at the scene. She gave a halfhearted waved once, walked up the porch with Daimon and stopped just in front of the table.

"You haven't even been here a full three days and you're already causing trouble." The cherub sighed.

"Sorry, sir, I was just out for a little… walk." Roxanna said.

"But if you woke Argus would have told me." Mr. Brunner said, slight frowning.

Roxanna smiled deviously, remembering the wink she got, and shrugged. "All I know is that I didn't feel like talking to anyone, so I went out for a walk."

Mr. Brunner sighed. "So be it." he then smiled kindly. "Now come sit, we have a lot to talk about. And, Daimon, don't you have a class to be in?"

"Yes, Chiron." Daimon said. "I was on my way there when I found Roxanna sleeping against a tree. Now if you'd excuse me, I have a class to be in." and with that he ran off to his class.

Roxanna narrowed her eyes. _Jerk, he did that on purpose._

She then frowned at the familiar name but still took a seat next to the cherub, while Mr. Brunner gave her a disapproving look. "Roxanna, you can't run of while you're injured and sleep under a tree at night." He said, as if he was scowling a little child.

Said girl at least had the decency to look ashamed, with a slight blush across her cheeks. Quickly changing the subject, she said, "Why did Daimon call you Chiron?"

"I'm afraid Mr. Brunner was a pseudonym." The former Mr. Brunner said. "Chiron is my real name."

Roxanna let the similarities in names slide, and asked instead, "Why am I here?"

Chiron smiled amused. "Ah, but that is what we all want answered. Why am I here? What purpose do I have? What am I worth? Where did I come from? It is one of many questions about life."

"That's not what I meant." Roxanna said, a bit frustrated now.

"Then you must learn to ask the right questions, child."

"Okay." Roxanna sighed, deep in thought. "A long time ago, Grover gave me a card with an address on it." Roxanna dug deep into her memory, mumbling to herself. "Camp Half-Moon, no, Bloodshed, hmm no. Camp… Camp… Camp Half-Blood, right?"

Chiron nodded, confirming Roxanna's guess.

Roxanna grinned at getting it right. "So, what is Camp Half-Blood?"

"Now _that_ is the right question." Chiron said, smiling. "What do you know of the Greek gods?"

"A lot… and, well," Roxanna look at the cherub, then the blond boy and then back at Chiron. "they're real, right? Unless I imagined the whole thing about Pasiphae's son."

"Well, you are quite right, Roxanna." Chiron said.

She released a sigh of relief. "Thought I was crazy there for a sec."

"And what did the gods do in the 'myths'?" Chiron asked.

"Kill a lot of people?" Roxanna more or less asked.

The cherub scoffed. "Not the first to say that."

"What else?" Chiron urged.

"They had a lot of children, but I do- oooohh. Right." You could practically see the light bulb turn on over Roxanna's head. "So this is like a camp for demigods and Percy, Daimon and I are part of the club now?" Roxanna nodded to herself. "I can live with that."

"You're taking this fairly easy." The blond boy stated.

"Yep, I kind of had a couple of months to get used to the idea that the Greek gods were real." Roxanna said deadpan, while Chiron looked at her knowingly. "so, who's Percy's and Daimon's godly parents?"

"We still don't know who Percy's father is," Chiron said. "but Daimon is a son of Thanatos."

The blond boy shivered. "Son of the death god." he then looked at Roxanna as if he just remembered something, and said smiling, "Oh, right, my name is Lee Fletcher, son of Apollo."

Roxanna gave a wave. "Roxanna Fleur."

"If you ever get injured again, then just come to me, I'll help fix you right up." Lee's smile was so bright that Roxanna wondered if it could be a replacement for the sun. Just for a short while, but still.

"I'll remember that." She said, and smiled slightly.

"Lee, could you go tell the Hermes cabin to expect a new cabinmate? And get the things ready for Roxanna?" Chiron asked Lee.

"Of course, Chiron." Lee then ran off, most likely over to the Hermes cabin.

"Sir?" Roxanna said, a bit confused. "How come you don't know who Percy's father is?"

"Because he hasn't been claimed yet, he's undetermined. If he, at least, was unclaimed then we'd know who his father is, but said father won't have claimed Percy as his own." Chiron said sadly.

"Oh." Roxanna looked down, biting her lip.

"Well, Roxanna," Chiron said, quickly changing the dreadful topic. "you helped Percy defeat the Minotaur, and for that you got this special little gift," he said, like Roxanna had won the lottery or something, and pointed to a pretty normal shoebox. Roxanna couldn't really see what was so special about it. "a spoil of war. Go on, open it."

Roxanna took the shoebox that came out of nowhere, and opened it. Inside was a black and white horn, the base smooth as if it was cut off and the top sharp.

"It's the horn I cut off." Roxanna said, holding the heavy horn in her hand.

"Yes, yes. Hurray and all that." The cherub grumbled, playing a card. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, the best camp for brats there is. Now don't go expecting me to be happy you're here."

"Pleasure." Roxanna said drily.

Chiron winked at Roxanna. "Don't worry about Mr. D, he's just a bit sour about his… grounding."

Mr. D snorted, and mumbled, "Grounding? More like punishment. 'Be a better influence,'" Mr. D mimicked mockingly. "'Work with youths rather than tearing them down.' I'm not even allowed to summon wine or drink it anymore. Absolutely unfair." Mr. D kept mumbling to himself.

"Offended his father a while back," Chiron told Roxanna after seeing her confused expression. "took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits."

"D," Roxanna said thoughtfully, gaining said man's attention. "wine, hmmm…"

Mr. D lazily raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"By any chance," Roxanna bit her lower lip. "are you the wine god?"

"Finally!" Mr. D exclaimed. "A little hero who has manners. See there's a first."

"I'll take that as a complement then."

"Batter manners then the other, Perry or whatever." Mr. D turned to Roxanna. "You'd be better off if you kept it that way, Roxanna Fleur, it'd be a shame to lose such a well mannered heroine like yourself."

"I'll be doing what I think is right, and if I so happen to step on someone's toes then so be it." Roxanna said with defiance. "Either way, there's bound to be someone who's not happy, so I might as well do what I want in the first place."

"What'd ya know? She's feisty, too." Mr. D said, somewhat amused. "Just like her dad… but then again, it runs in the family." He shrugged.

Roxanna was shocked to say the least, and far as she could see, so was Chiron. How'd he find out? Roxanna hadn't told anyone.

She pushed a nonexistent strand of hair behind her left ear and bit her lower lip.

"Do you know who her father is, Mr. D?" Chiron asked.

"I don't." Mr. D said curtly. "But I've been in enough family spats to know what their auras feel like. So I have an idea of who it is, thought I'm pretty sure she knows." He said, looking directly at Roxanna, who was still abusing her poor lip.

"Is that true, Roxanna?" Chiron spoke calmly.

What should she do? Tell the truth? But her father was never on such good terms with the others. What if they threw her out? Then again, if that was true, wouldn't Mr. D have already thrown her out or something?

Roxanna nodded, holding her head high with newfound confidence. "Yes, I do know who my father is. But I won't tell you. I want him to claim me and reveal himself, no other way."

Chiron looked at Roxanna with calculating eyes, before he nodded. "If you want it so."

"I believe I win." Mr. D said, having turned back to the card game that took place.

Roxanna had completely forgotten that they were playing a game, with what's happened and all.

"Not quite, Mr. D," Chiron said. He set down a straight, tallied the points, and said, "The game goes to me."

Mr. D just sighed heavily, as if he were used to being beaten by the Latin teacher, and got up.

"I'm tired, I believe I'll take a nap before the horrid sing-along tonight." Mr. D turned to Roxanna. "Cabin eleven, Roxanna Fleur. And if you're anything like your father, then you're gonna be one entertaining brat."

He swept into the farmhouse, leaving Roxanna more or less dumbfounded and wide eyed.

Chiron chuckled, clearly amused. "I think old Dionysus finds you interesting."

"Interesting?" Roxanna gave Chiron a deadpan look. "Is that even a good thing?"

All she got in response was a shrug.

_Gee,_ Roxanna thought drily. _That's reassuring._

She sighed and changed the subject.

"Where are Percy and Grover by the way?" Roxanna asked Chiron, feeling a bit embarrassed that she forgot about her friends.

"I would think Grover is with the other satyrs. Percy woke up just a day before you and is with the Hermes cabin now, training."

"Good," Roxanna relished a sigh with much relief. "they're both okay."

"Ah!" Chiron looked like he just remembered something rather important. "We seemed to skip right on over the whole explanation."

Roxanna frowned. "Ummm, what do you mean, Chiron?"

"You know that the Greek god are alive and well, but did you know that they live here? How they came here in the first place?"

"I don't think so."

"Well, the gods move with the heart of the West. It's a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years and the gods are part of it. You might even say they are the source of it, or at least, they are tied so tightly to it that they couldn't possibly fade, not unless all of Western civilization was obliterated. The fire started in Greece. Then, as you well know, the heart of the fire moved to Rome, and so did the gods. Oh, different names, perhaps."

"Yeah, Jupiter for Zeus, Neptune for Poseidon, Pluto for Hades," Roxanna said, thought she could hear Chiron had to tell this to a lot of people, like it was rehearsed.

"And so on," Chiron continued with a smile. "but they were the same forces, the same gods."

"Then what?" Roxanna asked curiously, tilting her head to the side while it was resting in her palms, her elbows on the table.

"The gods moved, to Germany, to France, to Spain, for a while. Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. They spent several centuries in England. All you need to do is look at the architecture. People do not forget the gods."

"No, I guess that would be a bit hard."

"Now they're in the United States."

"And we've got architecture all over the place with Greek gods and so on, right?"

Chiron nodded. "Right. America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West. And so Olympus is here."

"What? Wouldn't someone have stumbled across Olympus by now if it was here?" Roxanna asked, but then added, a bit as a joke, "Unless you're telling me that it's flying in the-" she then saw the look Chiron was giving her, and said instead, "It is flying in the sky, isn't it?"

Chiron chuckled. "Right over the Empire State Building."

"I'm not even gonna ask why no one hasn't seen it." Roxanna shook her head. "So, you really are the Trainer of Heroes?"

Chiron smiled. He shifted his weight as if he was going to get up out of his wheelchair, which Roxanna knew wasn't impossible. But it was still hard to believe, unless you saw it for yourself.

"And you're right yet again. I see I taught you well." he mused. "I simply adore chocolate and there will be s'mores at the campfire tonight, so we should get you a bunk in cabin eleven, before it get's too dark. There will be new friends to meet. And plenty of time for lessons tomorrow."

And then Chiron rose from his wheelchair rather oddly. His blanket fell away from his legs, but the legs didn't move. His waist kept getting longer, rising above his belt. Roxanna saw something white and fury, and Chiron kept rising out of the chair, taller than any man. Roxanna saw that it was the front of an animal, muscle and sinew under coarse white fur. And the wheelchair wasn't a chair. It was some kind of container, an enormous box on wheels.

Roxanna thought that there must have been something magic about it or a trick of some sort it, because there's no way it could've held all of Chiron.

A leg came out, long and knobby-kneed, with a huge polished hoof. Then another front leg, then hindquarters, and then the box was empty, nothing but a metal shell with a couple of fake human legs attached to it.

"Well that's a neat trick." Roxanna said, still staring at the huge and beautiful white horse – or, well, centaur – that sprung out off the wheelchair. Where the horse's neck normally should've been, the upper body of Chiron was attached, smoothly grafted to the horse's trunk.

"What a relief," Chiron said. "my fetlocks had nearly fallen asleep. Now, come, Roxanna. Let's meet the other campers."

* * *

**Whatche ya think? Good? Bad? ... Neutral? Coffee worthy? How about a lollipop instead? I don't know what the Hades I'm writing anymore. It's late and I think I'm overly tired, therefore I'm rather hyper (don't ask).**

**Remember to review! And thanks to you who does! ;P It's much ****appreciated!**


	6. Blondes, Blondes everywhere

**A/N So, just a little but important note to you all, about the Pexanna (PercyxRoxanna) or DaimonxRoxanna (Daxanna? IDK). You see, if you write a review about what you like best, then I'll make the story so it goes in that direction, meaning the more votes for Pexanna there is the more I'll write Pexanna into the story, and the same goes for DaimonxRoxanna.**

**ILoveReadingAndWriting**: Thank you so much! ^^ And you'll probably have to wait a while before the poll is up, because I'm most likely first gonna put it up when I'm at chapter 11 or 12 (^_^") Hope you can wait, and thank you for voting ;D

**Percy** **Waterblue**: Thank you! ;P I love coffee! And as I wrote to _ILoveReadingAndWriting_ I'll first put the poll up in chapter 11 or 12, but thank you for voting anyway! :D

**Lvl-ZeR0**: 6 out of 10… that's pretty good for my first try ;) Okay, lets try again, shall we? … *clears throat*… Mwahahahahahahahahahaaa… ? … Good enough? Anyway, thank you ;P

**DeathmatchDrunkard**: Hmm, now you've brought it up, I do wonder what the gateway to Olympus is. Well, since it was Ancient Greece, I can only guess it was a lot of stairs all the way up. It would take an eternity to get to the top ;P And when they finally reached the top, they would be so out of breath they wouldn't be able to speak! :D Sounds like a great idea! (note the sarcasm please) Anyway, thanks for the review ;)

**Uh! Uh! Uh! Spoiler! Spoiler! Annabeth is introduced in this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my OCs.**

* * *

_**Chapter 6**_

"_**Blondes. Blondes everywhere."**_

* * *

Roxanna sighed. Yet again.

Chiron had shown her the strawberry fields, where a bunch of campers were picking bushels of berries while a satyr played a tune on a reed pipe. Almost all of the campers in the fields had the same features. Kind faces, that of a born goodie two-shoes, and large green or brown eyes.

He'd told Roxanna that they grew strawberries for New York restaurants and Olympus, to pay for the expenses. The strawberries took nearly no effort, since fruit-bearing plants went nuts when Mr. D was around. Of course, it worked best with wine grapes, but Mr. D was restricted from growing those.

Chiron had shown Roxanna the woods, which in reality was a huge, dense forest. It took up at least a quarter of the valley, with trees so tall and thick, it seemed like nobody had been there since the Native Americans.

Chiron had said the woods were stocked (Roxanna could only guess he meant monsters) and to go armed. That's when the subject somehow turned into what happens on Friday night. Capture the flag. A game with two teams – red and blue – that has to steal the flag from the other team. The one to cross the creek first, with the opposing team's flag in hand, wins.

Chiron showed Roxanna the armory, the archery range, the canoeing lake, the stables (which Chiron didn't seem to like very much), the javelin range, the climbing-wall that sprouted lava (Roxanna practically had stars in her eyes when she saw that), the sing-along amphitheatre, and the arena where Chiron said they held sword and spear fights. Which weren't lethal…

Usually.

After that Chiron had pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea. He'd called it 'the mess hall'. There were a dozen stone picnic tables, but no roof and no walls.

At the point Roxanna had wanted to ask what they did if it rained, but seeing as Olympus flew in the sky and nobody had seen it, she figured they had something to deal with the weather, too.

And during the whole tour, kids had pointed at her and the Minotaur horn she was still carrying, and whispered, "She the _other_ one" or, "That's _her_" and of course the ever famous one, "_Look_." It had all start the minuet they passed a bunch of campers, in the volleyball pit.

Roxanna had noticed during the tour that most of the campers were older than her. The satyrs were also bigger than Grover, all of them trotting around in those horrible kill-me-orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirts, with nothing else to cover their bare shaggy hindquarters.

Now, normally Roxanna wasn't shy, but she'd always had a thing with attention. She hated it and it hated her, that's just how it was. Attention made her uncomfortable and nervous, especially with the way some of the campers were eyeing her. The worst part was that she couldn't even make out if it was a good eyeing or a bad eyeing.

Maybe a bit of both?

And Roxanna sighed.

"Why are you sighing so much?" Chiron finally asked.

Roxanna looked around at the campers. "It's the campers," she said. "they keep looking at me."

Chiron chuckled, which only resolved in Roxanna pouting. "That's because of the horn in your hand."

Roxanna just huffed.

Lastly, Chiron showed her the weird cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. Not one building was alike, except for the large brass number above the door. That's when Roxanna noticed that the odds were on the left side and evens on the right.

Number twelve had grape vines lining the roof and walls, other than that it looked like a pretty normal cabin.

Roxanna pointed at the cabin and couldn't help herself but say, "That's Mr. D's cabin, right?"

Chiron nodded. "Yes, the only two occupants are the twin brothers, Pollux and Castor."

"Mr. D has children?" Roxanna blunted, but by Chiron's look she quickly added, "That came out wrong."

Number ten was the definition of Barbie's dream house. It had a pink roof and walls with a pink door, lace curtains and potted carnations by the window.

Roxanna wrinkled her nose at all the pink and looked over at the Hephaestus cabin, number nine. The entrance was like a vault door, circular, and of thick metal. Roxanna could only imagine it opening with a lot of gears turning and smoke hissing. Smokestack stuck out of the cabin, like a tiny factory or an over-sized motor-home.

"It must suck to have the goddess of marriage as mother," Roxanna whispered.

"And why do you say that?" Chiron had unsurprisingly heard her.

"The poor man can't get divorced even if he wanted to." Roxanna said and continued to walk.

Chiron stopped for a short time, looking at the girl in surprise, but then began walking again with a shake of his head, a small smile gracing his features.

"Blunt as ever."

The cabins all faced a commons area about the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flowerbeds, and a couple of basketball hoops.

In the center of the field was a huge stone-lined fire pit. The hearth smoldered, even thought it was a warm afternoon. Roxanna saw a girl, about nine years old, tending the flames and poking the coals with a stick.

She didn't look like a camper – or, well, she wasn't wearing that horrid T-shirt, so Roxanna simply assumed that she wasn't a camper. But she let it go, if the little girl was bad, Chiron would have most likely done something about it.

The pair of cabins at the head of the field, numbers one and two, looked like a pair, except for the fact that two was more elegant and feminine than one. They were both big white marble boxes with heavy columns in front. Cabin one was the biggest and bulkiest of the twelve. Its polished bronze doors shimmered like a hologram, so that from different angles lightning bolts seemed to streak across them.

Cabin two was definitely more graceful, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. The walls were carved with images of peacocks.

"I can understand why Hera's cabin is empty," Roxanna said. "like Artemis', but why is Zeus'?"

"Artemis's cabin is occupied by the Hunters of Artemis when they are visiting," Chiron explained. "But Zeus' cabin is empty because of an oath he, Poseidon and Hades made. No more children."

Roxanna stiffened before relaxing again. She just hoped Chiron didn't see her mess-up.

That's when she noticed something. Twelve cabins for the twelve Olympians, of course, but none for Hades.

"Chiron, why doesn't Hades have a cabin?"

All Roxanna got as an answer was a simple, but uncomfortable, "He's not an Olympian."

Most of the other cabins were crowded with campers.

Number five was bright red, which somehow reminded Roxanna of a toddler trying to impress his parents by splashing more and more paint onto the canvas.

The roof was lined with barbed wire and a stuffed wild boar's head hung over the doorway. The weird thing was, Roxanna had the strangest feeling that its eyes were following her. Inside she could see a bunch of tough-looking kids, girls and boys, arm wrestling and arguing with each other while rock music blared.

Roxanna turned her attention back to Chiron. "I'm sorry to ask, Chiron, but, in the myth- I mean, story, you were killed. How can you still be here?"

Chiron faltered a little before chuckling. "You ask the same questions Percy did." He said, making Roxanna blush slightly. "Well, you see, eons ago the gods granted my wish. I could continue the work I loved. I could be a teacher of heroes as long as humanity needed me. I gained much from that wish... and I gave up much. But I'm still here, so I can only assume I'm still needed."

Roxanna suddenly remembered all the heroes Chiron had taught, who all died later on. It must have been absolutely depressing never knowing if your pupil came back or not.

"Oh, look," Chiron said. "Lee is waiting for us."

The blonde boy Roxanna had met at the Big House was playing something on the guitar in front of the last cabin on the left, number eleven.

When they reached him, Roxanna come clearly hear the wonderful music that Lee was playing. It was rather soft, yet energetic music. But he seemed so into it that he didn't notice Chiron and Roxanna coming.

A mischievous look washed over Roxanna's eyes, while a smirk found its way onto her lips. "I just got a sudden idea."

She quietly tiptoed up to Lee's side, bent down so that her mouth was beside his ear and yelled, "Look out! Niobe has come back to eat you all!"

A string on the guitar broke and Lee immediately stopped playing, looking rather frantic. He shot up like a bullet and ran in circles around Chiron, screaming something along the lines of "Hide yourselves! Niobe is back! Hide!" and "I'm too young to die! All the things I haven't done! All the things I haven't said! Goodbye, cruel world!". He then proceeded to hide under Chiron, while holding his guitar over himself.

Roxanna cleared her throat. "Well…" she broke into a grin, chuckling, "that went better then I had thought."

"Roxanna." Chiron warned.

"Yes, sir?" she said innocently, but by Chiron's look she dropped the act. "How should I have known he'd freak out like that?" She held out a hand to the still hiding and shaking Lee. "Honestly."

**(A/N If you don't know who Niobe is, then go Google it ;P She's rather important in Apollo and Artemis' history… important-**_**ish**_** anyway)**

It took her a full five minuets to pry Lee out from under Chiron, and another ten minuets to assure him that Roxanna was kidding, Niobe wasn't coming back from the dead to eat him and his siblings. Which resulted in a glare sent her way and an apologetic look sent back with a small, "Oopsie."

"Lee," Chiron said, "I have pressing matters to take care off. Would you take Roxanna from here?"

"Of course, sir." Lee said kindly, but then sent a halfhearted glare Roxanna's way, again.

"Cabin eleven. Make yourself at home." Chiron told Roxanna, gesturing toward the doorway, but then added as an after thought. "And no more…" he cleared his throat, probably trying to find the right word but failed in the end. "sudden ideas, alright?"

Roxanna smiled, which turned out to be more impish then benevolent. "Of course not, Chiron."

It didn't exactly settle Chiron's nerves.

Out of all the cabins, eleven looked the most like a regular, really old summer camp cabin. Thought, it had a certain charm about it. Kind of cute, in a way.

The threshold was worn down, the brown paint peeling. Over the doorway was a caduceus, a winged pole with two snakes wrapped around it.

Inside, it was packed with people, boys and girls, way more than the number of bunk beds. Sleeping bags were spread all over on the floor. It looked like a gym where the Red Cross had set up an evacuation center.

Chiron didn't go in. The door was too low for him. But when the campers saw him they all stood and bowed respectfully.

"Good luck, Roxanna." Chiron said. "I'll see you at dinner."

Then he galloped away, and the kids straitened up.

Roxanna walked in through the doorway, looking at the kids with a nonchalant look. They stared right on back, sizing her up. Roxanna, of course, knew the routine having seen enough new kids at her school, and having to make her own rep at the orphanage. She had to go through quite a lot there, but they still stood together, they were her family, even thought they got into fights now and then.

Now that Roxanna thought about it, she really missed the orphanage and Mrs. Oswell. Roxanna just hoped that Mrs. Oswell found the letter she had laid on her desk and took it all okay.

"Roxanna Fleur, meet cabin eleven." Lee announced.

"Regular or undetermined?" somebody asked.

"Unclaimed." Roxanna answered before Lee could say anything.

That seemed to get some confused looks, while some groaned.

"Rox?" said a voice.

Roxanna tried to look past some of the campers but didn't see what she was looking for. "Percy?"

Suddenly Percy popped out between the campers wearing a big grin. "You're okay!" he exclaimed.

"'Course I am."

"Welcome, Roxanna." Said girl turned to the voice, she didn't even notice that an older camper had come forward. "You can have the spot right over there."

The guy was about nineteen, tall, quite handsome with short-cropped sandy blonde hair and blue eyes, an athletic and muscular build. He had a sneaky look, which made Roxanna immediately peg him as a troublemaker, but good-looking features. The only thing that unnerved Roxanna about the guy was a thick, deep pale scar that ran from the bottom of his eye down to his chin.

Roxanna wondered where he got it. Maybe in a fight? If so, she had a bad feeling it didn't end too well.

"Hi, I'm Luke." The guy said, smiling. "Mind telling us who your godly parent is, since you know?"

"Roxanna, but you already knew that, and no."

"No?" Luke said, frowning.

"No." Roxanna confirmed with a single nod, crossing her arms.

"Luke, here," Lee interrupted. "is going to be your counselor, for now."

Roxanna frowned, not liking where this was going. "So, does that mean he's my boss or something?"

"Something like that."

"Right," She drawled out slowly, but then said under her breath, voice filled with sarcasm, "good luck with _that_."

Roxanna gave an indifferent look, as she looked around at the other campers. Some looked sullen and suspicious, some were grinning and some were eyeing the horn Roxanna held, as if they were waiting for her to put it down so they could steal it.

_Well,_ Roxanna thought. _That's not surprising. Hermes __**is**__ the god of thieves after all._

"Anyway, I have to check out the death trap of a climbing-wall sprouting lava." Roxanna said, the stars back in her eyes, and walked out the door.

Percy sighed and answered the unasked question. "Yes, she's like that." And then followed after the girl in question.

Roxanna had been walking for some time when Percy caught up with her. She looked around at the camp, now she understood why Percy, Daimon and her had felt a want to come here. It was a camp specially made for demigods, for them. But that still didn't settle Roxanna's feeling of dread, she had a bad feeling that if they found out who her father was…

Things wouldn't be pretty.

"How was your first day here, Perce?" she asked, so she'd think of something else.

"Well, it went okay, I guess." Percy shrugged, about to say something more when a loud, "Uff!" caught his attention.

Roxanna had bumped into someone if Percy had to guess from the way both she and another girl sat on the ground in front of each other, glaring.

Roxanna didn't know how it happened…

Well, okay she bumped into some girl, _but still_. One minute she was walking to the climbing-wall she dubbed the death trap, the next minute she was arguing with a girl who looked a lot like Lee.

The two girls threw insults at each other like it was a snowball fight, aiming for a bullseye, as Percy tried to get them both to cool down.

"Throw five cats and a lit firecracker in a bag, and that's _almost_ as bad as your music sounds!"

"Come on guys…" Percy tried.

"People like you are the reason we have _middle_ _fingers_!"

"Well if you're going to be two faced… At least try to make one _pretty_!"

"Stop…" Percy was feeling quite useless.

"Some people bring happiness wherever they go; you bring happiness _whenever_ you go!"

"I'd _love_ to have this battle of wits with you but I don't like fighting an _unarmed_ person!"

The girl, who looked like Lee's sister of some sort, never came with a comeback because a voice interrupted loudly, "Would you stop acting like two _five-year-olds_!"

Roxanna looked over to the new voice, shocked by the abrupt interruption.

The owner of the voice was a blonde girl. She looked 12-years-old and had golden blonde hair, curled like a princess's. She was tall, taller than Roxanna by quite a bit, fit and athletic. The blonde's eyes were an intense shade of grey. All in all she looked like a typical California girl only with a natural tan, thought the eyes kind of ruined the imagine.

Roxanna glared at the blonde and growled, "Beat it, _blondie_."

"It's _Annabeth_." The girl snapped.

"Well, _Annabeth_," Roxanna stressed out. "you've obviously mistaken me for someone who _gives a damn_."

"Shut up, _emo_." The Apollo girl snapped.

Roxanna growled, about to answer with an insult when a hand was laid on both Annabeth and Roxanna's shoulder. It was a boy with blond hair and grey eyes, much like Annabeth. Roxanna thought that he could have been her brother of some sort.

Snapping out of her, somewhat, tunnel vision, Roxanna looked around her. They'd attracted a crowd, most of them had come out from the Apollo cabin, who all glared at Roxanna, and the others looked like Annabeth with blonde hair and storm grey eyes, who had a calculating look in their eyes as they looked at the scene.

"Don't you think you three should all calm down?" the boy said sternly.

Annabeth huffed.

The Apollo girl crossed her arms looking away from the others.

Roxanna was fuming on the inside, but forced a neutral look onto her face.

"Come on, Rox." Percy said, as he pulled Roxanna away. "I think it's best if we leave."

Roxanna didn't say anything, just kept her face neutral as she saw the Apollo girl walk over to her siblings and probably tell them what happened, Roxanna guessed. Mostly because the moment the girl had opened her mouth, the whole Apollo cabin was glaring hard at Roxanna.

She then looked over to Annabeth's siblings, most likely, the Athena cabin. Annabeth was livid, Roxanna could tell, as she glared at practically anything she set her eyes on. But the rest of the Athena cabin either gave Roxanna a slight glare or calculating looks, like that boy who had stopped the verbal fight.

That's when Roxanna saw some other people, three of them actually. The one Roxanna would peg as the leader, was maybe thirteen or fourteen. She was a big, tall girl with long, stringy dirty blonde\brown hair, brown eyes and was really strong looking. She wore a size XXXL CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirt under a camouflage jacket, which probably helped in making her look bigger than she actually was.

The girl had the same sneer Roxanna had seen in the Ares cabin, alone with her two friends, but when she caught Roxanna looking over at her, she gave a nod and walked off with her two friends.

What a day, and it wasn't even finished.

* * *

**I had a really hard time writing the last part (^_^") Stupid verbal fights, Y U so hard 2 write?! **

**As you can see, I've made it so that a **_**big**_** part of the Apollo cabin (plus Annabeth) and Roxanna are going to hate each other, for now (I'm still gonna had some that doesn't like Roxanna), because it would be a bit weird if everyone loved Roxanna the minuet she walked into camp, don't you think?**

**And if you have any ides of how I came make a bit of romance or whatever, then please tell me (mostly because I probably suck at doing it myself. I've honestly never been good with romance).**

**IMPORTANT! IMPORTANT! IMPORTANT! OH! AND SORRY!**

**VVVVV**

**VVV**

**V**

**I'm probably not gonna be able to update the next week or so, because of my exams… well it's more like exams **_**before**_** the **_**real**_** exams, but I have no idea of what it's called in English (Oh how I hate exams). Anyway I'm also gonna have project week in week 5 and we have to prepare before, so if I'm a little slow that's why (^_^") And I'd like to get some good grades, so I'll be focusing on that. Sorry beforehand.**

**Anyway, review please! ;D**


	7. A lot of talking, dinner and a fistfight

**A/N I'll tell you all one thing: they lied to us about global warming. It's not getting any warmer where I am! 'Cause it's still cold, and snowing.**

**I'm back, I'm back, I'm back  
Come on  
(Back, back - Really, really back)  
You know I'm back, I'm back  
You know it  
(Back, back - Really, really back)  
You know I'm Back, I'm Back  
Come on, you know  
(Bad back - Really, really back)  
And the whole world has to  
Answer right now  
Just to tell you once again,  
Who's back . . .**

**I just had to XD Sorry for taking so long (I told you in the reason in the last chapter), but I've got a Beta (-ish) now! It's my lovely big brother, and he just loves helping his sweet younger sister XD**

**Just kidding, I'm not sweet ^^**

**Sooooo…. I finally finished with my mock exams! (Is that what it's called?) Now I just have to wait to get my results back :) It went pretty well, if I have to say so myself…. Well, except for my French exam (I had to do an answer sheet ((did that)) and an essay on 200 words… I only did 73 "¬_¬) and my Danish exam.**

**I can't believe my English exam went better then that of my native langue! I only needed two more correct answers in my English exam and I'd gotten clean 12es (there's an essay, a listening test ((got a 10 on that one)), a reading test and one for langue use). Damn you test! Damn you to Hades!**

**Anywho, onward to the reviews! (Which I am thankful for, including the alerts and favorites)**

**Lvl-ZeR0**: Awwwww~ that's so sweet of you *whips away a stray tear*. Anyway, thank you so much and I'll try my best not to forget my story in the project, since I'm already finished with my mock exams ;) Thank you for voting! (*waves you over and whispers* But honestly, I think it'll end up with Pexanna. It got most votes so far. Shhh!)

**DeathmatchDrunkard**: Yes, she is very mean :3 I can't tell you if Annabeth will play a major role or not (mostly because I'm a little unsure myself. Don't judge meh! I know nothing!), but she'll be there that's for sure ;) As for Clarisse… you'll just have to read! Mwahahahahaha! … XD

**Sam99**: Thank you, darling! ;P

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my OCs.**

* * *

_**Chapter 7**_

"_**Talk, more talk, dinner and… Uh! A fistfight!"**_

* * *

"That useless_,_ _talentless_ doxy of a daughter of Apollo." Roxanna grounded out between gritted teeth. "And that no-good, _dumb_ blonde wench _Annie._" Roxanna gave a frustrated cry, kicking a stone out of the way.

Suddenly noticing that her friend had been rather quiet, she looked over at Percy.

"So," Roxanna started. "you never got around to telling me what happened while I was out."

Percy snapped out of his thoughts, looking over to his friend. Maybe if he told Roxanna all the crazy stuff that had happened she could make something out of it and give him some answers.

Unlike everyone else.

Maybe he should tell her what happened at the school trip, the thing with the water.

Percy remembered his first day at Camp Half-Blood rather well, he'd met Chiron and Mr. d (he, apparently, was a god – who'd have known?), Annabeth and Luke. Then when he'd gone out – or rather, Annabeth had dragged him – he got in a fight with a girl called Clarisse La Rue. She tried to push Percy's head down the toilet, saying something about not being Big three material, but then something weird happened, the water had shot out and drenched Clarisse, her friends and Annabeth. (Of course, there were also those Naiads who waved at him like he was a long lost friend.) After the toilet incident, Annabeth was mad at him, but still wanted Percy on her team in Capture the Flag. Then in Percy's first sword lesson, he felt reenergized after dumping water over himself and beat Luke. Percy thought it was probably beginners luck. He also remembered how Grover was twenty-eight, and that he didn't become a seeker like he wanted to.

**(A/N I know Percy didn't fight Luke on his first day, but for the sake of my story he did. And also, it is my story, so I can change what I want to ^^)**

He told Roxanna everything, hoping that she could help. Starting with the trip, Percy said that Nancy had dumped her lunch in Grover's lap, Percy had been livid and suddenly he heard a wave and Nancy was in the fountain. People had whispered to each other about how it looked like the water had grabbed Nancy and then Mrs. Dodds suddenly appeared.

As he continued to tell about his first day, he watched as Roxanna's frown deepened with every word he said. Percy could see how Roxanna's eyes held a certain weariness in them, but also a bit of annoyance, while the rest of her face held a frown.

Then he came to the dream.

"What?" Roxanna frowned, not liking Percy's sad expression. "You had an unnerving dream?"

Percy told her how he'd seen an eagle and a horse fighting, a voice from below the earth goading them on. Then, when he tried to run to them, he was in slow motion. Percy suddenly remembered that he felt like he was in slow motion when fighting against the Minotaur, when he tried to jump on top of the monster.

"Slow motion?" Roxanna had that look in her eyes, the one she got when she was deep in thought.

"Yeah, and Annabeth asked me if I knew what was stolen," Percy quickly carried on when he saw Roxanna glaring at the ground and clenching her fists. "and about what would happened at the summer solstice."

Roxanna frowned in thought, tilting her head to the side, reminding Percy of a puppy.

She shook her head with a sigh.

"What is it? Do you know something?" Percy asked.

She hummed in agreement. "Maybe," she said thoughtfully. "Anyway, you said that you felt reenergized when you dumped water on yourself, right?"

"Erh, yeah."

"You know the Big three, right?" Roxanna didn't wait for an answer. "And who is it that controls the seas?" she still didn't wait. "Right, Poseidon. But I'm not sure, it could be his son."

"So I'm a son of-"

"I said I'm not sure." Roxanna cut off. "It's better not to think about it, and besides, this is one of the times where it's better I'm wrong."

"But he made a oath!"

"Hmm, maybe." Roxanna mused, humming. "But the gods had a lot of heroes back then, they still do, Percy. No offence, but do you honestly think that just because of one oath they'd change? I'm not so sure, if anything, I think they'd just do it in secret." She gave a sad smile.

Percy frowned. What did she know?

Deciding to cheer her up, Percy went over to Roxanna to give her a hug.

Of course, it didn't exactly happen like that. Being the klutz that Percy is, he ended up tripping over a stone and landed on top of Roxanna, hands on either side of her head and their noses touching. Percy blushed beet red, as Roxanna's own cheeks mirrored perfectly, if not more.

"Um… I… I erh… S-sorry." Percy stuttered, thought he still didn't move.

"R-right."

This was one of those rare equations where Roxanna would get embarrassed, Percy noted. There were a few things that could get Roxanna embarrassed or flustered like that, and some part of Percy's mind couldn't help but notice that she looked rather cute with flushed cheeks and wide eyes.

"So this is what you've been doing." Said the familiar voice of Daimon, unamused.

He proceeded to grab Percy by the back of his T-shirt and pulled him off Roxanna, setting Percy down next to him. Daimon stuck a hand out for Roxanna and helped pull her up, as she grab onto it.

"W-w-we… I-I mean… W-we didn't… U-Umm…"

Daimon just raised an eyebrow at Percy's unintelligent stuttering. "Right."

"I… I have to go." Roxanna suddenly said. "See ya."

She ran off before Percy or Daimon could answer, much less progress what she just said. Running past campers here and there, who all looked at her like she was crazy or raised an eyebrow, Roxanna finally stopped outside the stalls.

She remembered that the Pegasi hadn't been all that thrilled when she came to look with Chiron. They had whined loudly, jumping up on their back legs if she got to close, and flapped their wings, as if to fly away from her.

Roxanna was a bit saddened that the Pegasi didn't like her, because she really wanted to try and fly one. But then she remembered whom she had as uncle, and quickly threw the thought away, never to be taken up again.

She didn't get much time to think about what just happened, because a voice called, "Well, well, well. Look who we have here."

Roxanna turned around, coming face to face with the girl who had seen her fight with the daughter of Apollo and Annabeth.

"It's the girl everyone's talking about." The girl continued with a scoff.

"And you must be Clarisse La Rue," Roxanna said, hurriedly collecting herself. "if I'm not mistaken?"

Clarisse narrowed her eyes. "Yeah? How'd you know, _punk_?"

"Oh, you know, I hear that you got an unexpected bath." A smirk spread across Roxanna's lips.

"Oh yeah?" Clarisse gritted her teeth. "Well, _punk_, you might wanna start respecting your superiors before you're the one getting a bath."

"I don't see any superiors here," Roxanna quickly lost her smirk, replaced by a glare. "and my name's not _punk_, Pork Chops La Rue," she hissed. "it's Roxanna Fleur."

Clarisse's face tinted red. "You better start shutting that trap of yours, _punk,_" she stressed out. "or you'll regret it _dearly_."

"Bring it on, La Rue."

With that, the two girls lunged at each other.

Lee scolded at the two – now bruised and battered – girls who were sitting on a bed in the infirmary.

Lee continued to pace back and forth in front of the girls, as he said a bit frantic, "I can't believe you two! Roxanna, for my father's sake, you just got out of bed today and you're already going off picking fights!"

"I didn't pick a fight," Roxanna chimed in, with a slight frown. "I was simply defending myself."

But Lee didn't seem to notice – or he just ignored her, much Roxanna's annoyance – for he was still pacing back and forth, saying, "And you, Clarisse, how many times do I have to tell you to stop harassing people! We're tired of fixing those poor souls when you're done with them!"

Clarisse shrugged. "Well they should know not to mess with me."

Lee continued, still oblivious to the other two, "Don't get into more trouble, and be nice to the others, will you! I don't want to see you two here again because you got into a fight!" Lee finally stopped pacing, so he could look at the two girls through narrowed eyes.

Roxanna saluted with a grin, while Clarisse shrugged nonchalantly.

Neither of the two girls were going to listen of course, and just carry on as usual.

Lee continued to lecture the two, pacing back and forth.

Roxanna turned to look at Clarisse. During their fight, Roxanna had gotten a punch in, giving Clarisse a bloody nose. The blood had stopped running down her nose, lips and chin, and at last dried. Of course, Clarisse had also given Roxanna a chipped lip, a bit of blood running down her chin, and a black eye.

"About your nose, La Rue…" Roxanna began.

Clarisse looked over at her then looked back straight ahead, again. "Yeah, me too."

Roxanna grinned impishly and than winched lightly at the pain in her lip, but she still kept her grin, if not a little smaller than before. "You're okay, Clarisse."

"You're not to bad yourself, Roxanna."

"Are you two even listening to me!" Lee exclaimed, fuming.

The two girls looked at each other and then grinned, laughing.

Lee, being the only healer there at the moment, had to look at their injuries and fix them up. He rinsed of all the dried blood, while the girls sat and talked, and patched the wounds. Clarisse was an interesting girl, in Roxanna's opinion. She was the Ares cabin's counselor, and being a girl, had to work extra hard if she wanted to stay on the top. Maybe at first when Roxanna meet her, Clarisse seemed very hot-tempered and arrogant (not that she wasn't), but Roxanna actually found her pleasant to be with. They had the same sense of needing to defend themselves against others, a bit of an outcast in some sense, and would hold on to their believes.

Lee finally finished fixing the two girls, Roxanna hopped of the bed and said goodbye to the two others, running off to the forest.

The forest was even bigger than Roxanna had expected. The trees towered over her small form, lush green leafs sprouted from the branches and the smell of rich dark soil attacked her senses. Roxanna continued to walk, until she came upon a creek with glistering, crystal clear water flowing in it.

She sat down on a boulder near the creek. Taking off her shoes (which she got from Chiron before their tour) she dumped her bare feet into the cold water with a pleased sigh.

"Enjoying yourself?" a familiar voice asked amused.

Roxanna hummed in agreement, patting the spot besides her. "Sit, Akilles."

Daimon walked over to the boulder, sitting down but didn't dump his feet into the water. "How's your day been so far? You look rather…"

"I know and I've had an okay day." Roxanna shrugged, smirking. "Made a friend, I think."

"You think?" Daimon raised an eyebrow.

Roxanna nodded. "Yep, what about you?"

"Well, people ain't all that happy about me being a son of Thanatos," Daimon shrugged, back to his usual stoic self. "So they've mostly left me alone."

"I can relate, that was like when I first…" Roxanna stopped abruptly then cleared her throat. "I mean, at the school I go to, everyone avoids me." she shrugged. "Not that I care. I met Percy and Grover in 6th grade, so I haven't been totally alone all the time."

Daimon frowned. "What about before?"

"I was alone." Roxanna looked down at the creek. "Nobody was my friend in school."

"And your family?"

Roxanna shook her head. "Got no blood relatives. My mother died when I was born, and I've never met my father." Roxanna looked up at Daimon. "What about you? You got any family?"

"Yeah," Daimon nodded. "my mother, but it's been about two years ago since I last saw her."

"I don't think I understand." Roxanna said frowning.

"I ran away from home," Daimon said, sadness in his molten eyes. "because monsters kept attacking. I thought that maybe if I wasn't closer to her, she wouldn't get hurt."

Roxanna saw Daimon wrapping his hand around a necklace, which she hadn't noticed until now. The chain was made of silver and the charm looked like an inverted torch, the flame wrapping loosely around the staff, which was made of silver while the flame was made of onyx.

Roxanna smiled, despite her chipped lip, and nudged Daimon slightly with her elbow. "Well would you look at that? There _is_ a gentleman hidden somewhere in you."

Daimon's lips quirked a little. "Anything you like so far? Classes? People? Buildings?"

"Well, I like the climbing wall," Roxanna said, getting stars in her eyes. "And I haven't had any classes yet, but I'm looking forward to swordsmanship and _definitely_ Capture the Flag."

Daimon raised an eyebrow. "Why?" but as soon as Roxanna looked at him, he regretted ever asking.

"Because I get to beat up people, without getting in trouble for it." she said, an impish gleam in her eyes. "What else? Now, what about you? Anything you like?"

"Swordsmanship is pretty cool, Luke is a good fighter," Daimon nodded to himself, and a comfortable silence fell over them.

"So," Roxanna started after a while, breaking the silence. "Akilles? What kind of surname is that?"

"It's not my real surname," Daimon said, a bit uncomfortable. "my umm…" he clear his throat. "You better not tell anyone about this."

Roxanna grinned, holding one hand up and the other on her heart. "Promise."

"My real surname is Dinkle."

Roxanna nearly choked on her own spit. "Dinkle?"

Daimon pulled a face. "Yea, it's horrible. That's why I started to call myself Akilles instead."

Roxanna laughed. "Fear the almighty Daimon Dinkle! Son of the frightening Death god!"

Daimon rolled his eyes, bumping his shoulder into Roxanna's. "I can't believe I told you."

Roxanna feigned hurt. "What? You don't trust me?" she put her hand over her heart, as if it was in pain. "I'm hurt. No really, I am."

"You'll get over it." Daimon grumbled, making Roxanna grin.

"I already am, _Dee Dee_."

Roxanna and Daimon continued to talk, getting to know each other. But as soon as it had started, Daimon had to go, seeing as he had something to do. Roxanna didn't know what, because when she asked, he just said it was a secret.

She sat, humming a melody by Three Days Grace, as she moved her feet slowly back and forth in the water.

It had been a long day, and it was getting darker and darker, but Roxanna still didn't move from her spot. Now that she looked at the woods with setting sun, she had to admit it, the forest was probably the most beautiful place here at camp. Roxanna wondered what it would look like at night, the moon and stars casting a soft silver light over everything, bouncing off the trees and water.

Suddenly horn blew in the distance. Frowning to herself, she put on her shoes and stood up, looking to where to horn sounded.

"Maybe it's something important."

Just as she had whispered this softly, a few girls – dryads – emerged from the trees, walking in the direction of the mess hall pavilion. The closest was a pretty ash blonde girl, about the same age as Roxanna maybe a little younger, who melted out from the side of an ash tree and skipped after the others.

Satyrs seemed to pop out of nowhere and started walking in the same direction as the dryads. Naiads walked straight out of the creek, the water seemingly a part of them and their clothes as they rose but then moved away from the naiads and back to the creek. They soon, too, followed the satyrs and the dryads.

One dryad had stayed back, looking at Roxanna. She had pretty elfish features, like the other dryads, and was small and petite, with wispy amber colored hair. She wore a green chiton and sandals, again like the others but in different colors.

She gestured for Roxanna to follow, a kind smile gracing her lips. Roxanna quickly followed, as she turned her back and walked to the same place as the others.

When Roxanna got out of the forest she saw the mess hall pavilion filled with maybe a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs, a dozen assorted dryads and naiads.

At the pavilion, torches blazed around the marble columns. A central fire burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each cabin had its own table, covered in white cloth trimmed in purple. Four of the tables were empty, but cabin eleven's was probably the most overcrowded.

Roxanna caught sight of Percy and Daimon sitting with the Hermes cabin, and Grover sitting at table twelve with Mr. D, a few satyrs, and a couple of blond boys who looked like Mr. D, just more fit**.** Chiron stood to one side, the picnic table being too small for a centaur.

Roxanna's eye roamed over the tables, stopping at the Ares table where she saw Clarisse laughing alongside her friends.

Roxanna stepped into the mess hall and over a hundred pair of eyes turned to her. She pushed an invisible strand of hair behind her left ear, worrying her lower lip. Just as she was about to say something, everyone gasped, looking over her head. An eerie black and platinum glow came from over her head and when Roxanna looked up she saw the unmistakable sign of Hades: the Helm of Darkness.

All around Roxanna, campers stood up from their seats and kneeled, looking rather scared.

Chiron cleared his throat loudly. "Hades," he said and for the first time Roxanna heard him, he sounded very old and tired. "the Silent One, the Rich One, One of many Names, Lord of the Underworld, God of the Dead and Wealth. Hail, Roxanna Fleur, Daughter of Hades."

"Show off." Roxanna muttered under her breath, despite it all. "Had to be when everyone were looking, didn't it?"

* * *

**A bit of a filler chapter, I know. Roxanna finally got claimed! Mwahahahahahah! But anyway, tell me what you think! ^^**


	8. Mangos are golden, not orange

**A/N**

**Ladies and gentlemen! Monsters and "mythical" creatures! I would love to announce that I am officially over with project week! ;D**

**Well, all in all, I'm pretty proud of my mock exam results (especially my English), so a pat on the shoulder to me :3 And I've already done the presentation for project week, so no more stressing around for a while! Whoopee!**

**The song is called "Hey There Delilah" by "Plain White T's".**

**DeathmatchDrunkard**: Yeah, well, Percy does have a lot of bad luck (or is it good luck? He does get out of life threatening situations after all)… so I thought, "Why the Hades not?" and made a little cliché scene with him tripping. Of course Hades would claim Roxanna in front of everyone :), besides, I didn't want Roxanna to be claimed with Percy, I've seen it too much in the Naruto crossovers (not that they ain't good or anything).

**Sorry that username is taken**: Well, there was some Pexanna in the last chapter… you want more? Okay, *Strikes a good-guy-pose-from-Naruto-with-sunset-background… pose… or something* There'll be more Pexanna, just you wait! ;)

**Lvl-ZeR0**: I'll make sure to be in the Olympics next time it shows ;P Then you'll be able to see me on TV, laughing my evil laugh and getting a gold metal :D I can't wait!

**Diamondheart07**: Thank so much, and here's a chappie for you ;B

**Sam99**: Thanks XD

**D00M**: Thank you! I'm glad I got you hooked on the first chapter ^^ Hope you didn't get disappointed when you read the other chapters :)

**TvshowsManiac**: Thank you for loving my (brilliant… ish?) idea! ;P

**gabrielsangel23**: Thank you so much! ^^ I'm glad you liked the ending, and here's a chappie for you!

**Disclaimer: Do I look like a fourty-something-year-old **_**man?**_** No, therefore I don't own the PJO series (sadly). I only own Roxanna and Daimon, my OCs (I am a very proud mother! *fire in my eyes* And don't you forget it! XD).**

* * *

_**Chapter 8**_

_**Mangos are golden, not orange.**_

* * *

After the claiming, everything was a blur to Roxanna. She had dinner then moved to the big house instead of staying in the Hermes cabin like Daimon. Roxanna could still remember the conversation clearly in her head.

Roxanna was walking up the porch to the big house, dinner over and happily forgotten, when she heard voices coming from the inside, as she was about to knock on the front door.

"Chiron," said a voice that sounded a lot like Luke's. "I'm sorry but she can't stay."

Roxanna heard a sigh, most likely coming from Chiron. Roxanna frowned. They were talking about her, she knew it.

"Why can she not stay, like Daimon? Is she that different from everyone else?" Chiron said heavily.

"I tried to talk with them, but some of the campers are too afraid of her to even see reason!"

Roxanna moved closer to the door and found it ajar, looking inside she, indeed, saw Luke and Chiron talking. Chiron looked very stern, looking his age for once, while Luke held a rather sour expression.

Chiron shook his head. "Of course they are. It's like that with every child of Hades."

Luke's face fell, his mouth set in a thin line. "I'm sorry, I really am, but Roxanna will have to stay in the big house from now on."

Brief emotions flashed through Roxanna: pain, anger, betrayal, sorrow, grief, shame, lonely.

And then…

Empty.

Roxanna pushed all the feelings aside, locking them deep inside, thought she still bowed her head slightly, remembering all the times that similar situations happened to her. It wasn't a nice reminder, that's for sure, but there wasn't really anything she could do about it. She was always alone in school before she met Percy and Grover, and the kids at the orphanage weren't very happy with her in the start either. So honestly, Roxanna and alone had always gone hand in hand when she was younger.

The orphanage was her home, sure, but that didn't mean that everyone liked each other, it was only when Roxanna turned seven that it changed. She'd been home for the Christmas holidays when she found a little girl, barely five, outside sitting against the biggest tree in the back garden.

Normally, Roxanna wouldn't have bother and just pass by the little girl, but when she heard a heart-wrenching sob coming from the little girl, she couldn't stop herself from walking over to her. The girl was clenching a broken and burnt gold pendant in her hand, crying to herself. Roxanna hadn't seen her before, so she assumed that the girl was new.

Roxanna clearly remembered crouching down in front of the girl, asking what was wrong. The girl continued to cry, but managed to gasp out that her father died in a fire and that she couldn't stay with her mother because she didn't know where she was. The only thing she had left of her father was the broken pendant.

Through the whole ordeal, Roxanna was crouched in front of the girl listening intently to her story. The girl then began full-blown out sobbing after finishing, hiding her face in her knees, which were pulled up close to her body.

Roxanna then asked her what her name was. The girl had looked up uncertainly, tears running down her cheeks before she finally said her name was Delilah. Roxanna grinned and ruffled Delilah's hair and she had said rather softly, _"Hey there Delilah don't you worry…"_

Roxanna sighed silently. Delilah had been her first friend, she had been the one to drag Roxanna up from bed (Delilah was the only one who dared, besides Mrs. Oswell, after a little… mishap…) and take her to Delilah's other friends, making her talk to them, eventually becoming friends.

After two years, Delilah got adopted.

But this time, Roxanna had a few other friends, the ones she made with Delilah. Thought, Roxanna was still alone in school, she only had the holidays with her friends at the orphanage.

Roxanna couldn't make herself think of the time before that, before Delilah, because it was painful, oh so very painful. She was so alone.

All alone…

Roxanna shivered, snapping out of her thoughts, she tightly closing her eyes and brought her hands up to rub her arms.

Despite it all, Roxanna couldn't help but feel betrayed by Delilah, even thought Roxanna was very happy for her friend. Delilah had a chance at a new family and she took it. Roxanna knew it was for the best, and Delilah was far too young to not have a family. Even thought Roxanna was young and didn't have one of her own she was used to it, after all, it had been Roxanna's life the minute she was born.

Delilah had made a choice; it couldn't be undone now, never will be.

"You will have to talk with her first." Chiron said.

"It's fine with me, Chiron." Roxanna said, as she closed the door behind her.

Both centaur and demigod turned to the young girl, shock written on their faces, as Roxanna looked at them with a neutral expression, masking any after-emotions the memory gave her.

"Roxanna, what are you doing here?" Chiron had turned stern again, having already figured out how much Roxanna had heard, but his tone was still surprisingly kind.

"I kind of got the feeling you'd want to talk to me." Roxanna answered simply with a shrug.

Chiron sighed. "Then so be it, you will be staying in the big house."

And that was how Roxanna ended up where she was right now, sitting in her room in the big house. She was sitting on the bed, the sheets white, which was in the opposite end of the door. A desk stood to her left, books spread across it and the Minotaur horn lying on top of the mess. A window was placed besides the desk, looking out at the volleyball pit with black curtains. A soft rug was spread out on the floor, rich dark red in colour. Lastly, a wardrobe was positioned on the right side of the room, opposite of the window, and down by the door.

It was only just yesterday that Roxanna got claimed, and she was already positive of one thing.

The Apollo cabin hated her guts.

Honestly, if love at first sight was possible, than hate at first sight was too.

How she knew? Her first archery lesson didn't exactly go that well, not to mention that she almost got shish kebab-ed by a stray arrow from Percy, and she was standing _behind_ him. But that wasn't the point, the point was that the Apollo cabin hated her and her first lesson with them didn't go all too well.

Sure, she tried to be nice but that's a bit hard when every Apollo camper is glaring at you. And Roxanna was sure that the Apollo girl – who was apparently called Kayla –, was _deliberately_ _trying_ to hit her, because Roxanna had dodge a few arrows coming from Kayla's direction.

And so went the first archery lesson, which Roxanna never wanted to join again. Ever.

Her next lesson was pegasi riding, which… well, let's just say that Roxanna never got within 10 feet of them.

Lunch came around, but Roxanna didn't exactly feel all that hungry so she walked back to her room in the big house. On her way there, she saw two rather interesting boys, who could have been twins, if not for the fact that there were small differences between the two, but the most visible was that one was a little taller than the other.

The shorter one was still quite tall. He was skinny with a mop of curly brown hair that hung in his blue eyes, thought when Roxanna looked closer she could see small specks of green, getting more intense the closer it came, around the pupil. Like most of the other children of Hermes, he had upturned eyebrows and a gleam in his eyes. He was wearing a crooked smile, one that Roxanna was sure matched his personality quite a lot, and like everyone else that horrid kill-me-orange T-shirt with a pair of light jeans.

The taller had a mop of curly brown hair hanging in his eyes, like his brother – Roxanna was pretty sure they were brothers -, but his was a bit lighter in tone, if you looked closely. His eyes were much bluer than the others, thought he still had the same built and features: tall (and a bit taller then his brother, but you'd have to see them beside each other to see that), skinny, upturned eyebrows and a certain gleam in his eyes. He was wearing exactly the same as his brother.

The both of them looked to be thirteen or fourteen.

Also, Roxanna had the feeling that the shorter of the two was a bit smarter, while the taller was a little more mischievous.

Roxanna raised an eyebrow as she saw the two sneaking around whispering in hushed voices. Well, not exactly sneaking around as the two mischief-makers had the grace of an elephant. Thought Roxanna had the feeling that if they really wanted to, they could be soundless, which was soon to be proven as the two actually sneaked (soundlessly) up behind Roxanna, who was too lost in thought to notice.

"Why hello, little lady."

"I don't think we've met."

"I'm Connor Stoll," said the shorter of the two.

"And I'm Travis Stoll," continued the taller.

"We're sons of the awesome Hermes." The two brothers finished together, wearing identical grins, and both towering over Roxanna's small form.

The two of them reminded Roxanna of Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and some part of her ADHD infested mind wondered if she'd meet anyone who'd remind her of the Cheshire Cat, but somehow, she doubted that.

"Roxanna Fleur," she finally said. "Daughter of Hades, but I'm guessing you already got the memo yesterday."

The two brothers nodded, but then Connor said, "My dear brother and I couldn't help but notice that you looked so sad."

"So we wanted to know," continued Travis. "do you wanna help us come up with a prank idea?"

Roxanna blinked owlishly, she definitely hadn't seen that one coming. "Umm, sure."

The brothers grinned, each taking one of Roxanna's hands and dragging her to the Hermes cabin, which was deserted. The cabin seemed much more spacious now that it was empty of campers, except for the trio of demigods. The brothers both made space in the middle of the cabin then one took different stuff and placed it there, while the other closed the curtains. The cabin was drowned in darkness, so the lights got turned on.

In the middle of the room were a spray-can, a camera, a shoe, a purse, a permanent marker, a calculator, a calendar, a recipe, a book, a mango, a shovel, a cap and a bunch of other stuff.

Roxanna walked over to the pile, picking up a book and read the title aloud, "_'40 ways to cook an octopus.'_ Really?" she raised an eyebrow, disbelief dripping from her voice. Shacking her head she threw the book back, poking a lone bicycle's wheel with her foot. "Where the Hades do you hid this?"

Connor picked up a stop sign, twisting and turning it in his grip. "Oh you know, here and there,"

"Under the wooden boards," Travis said nonchalantly, examining the pile with a hand under his chin. "In secret cabinets in the walls, etcetera, etcetera."

Roxanna nodded and picked the spraying can up. Eyeing the pile again, she smirked. "Ever heard of Eris' Apple of Discord?"

The two brothers looked up and over at Roxanna, as a devious smirk made its way onto their features.

**(A/N Really thought of ending it here but thought it would be too short, and I've been gone for a long time so the least I can do is make a decent chapter ^^)**

Roxanna sat on the steps of the Hermes cabin, perfect vision to the Aphrodite cabin. Lunch was long over – Travis and Connor had speed off to hid, but probably still able to see the Aphrodite cabin -, and now all the trio of demigods had to do was wait for the Aphrodite cabin to be done with their archery lesson.

Roxanna had a book open in her lap, reading it while keeping a close eye on cabin 10. She was reading something about the different Greek ages.

A little while later, she saw the Aphrodite campers walking into their cabin, no longer than a couple of seconds after, Roxanna heard a lot of yelling and screaming. Gucci shoes were flying out the windows and if Roxanna looked closer she'd see Aphrodite campers ripping each other's clothes, throwing lipstick and jewellery at anyone who got too close.

Roxanna aloud herself to chuckle, grinning widely, but she quickly wiped it off her face as other campers came to look at the commotion. She saw one camper, who got too close, getting hit in the face by a stiletto. Another got a lipstick in the eye.

Then, all of a sudden, the door to cabin 10 slammed open, reviling an angry crowd of Aphrodite campers. The first thing they all did was storm over to the Hermes cabin, were Roxanna was trying hard not to laugh at their appearance.

Most of them had crimson lipstick smeared onto their faces – reassembling harassed clowns -, bare arms and clothes, which was ripped, showing stomachs, legs, thighs, bras, anything really. Hairdos tangled into birds' nests, and Roxanna honestly wouldn't be all that surprised if one or two had a bald spot somewhere. Some still had a stiletto or lipstick clutched in their hand.

Roxanna closed the book, and smiled politely up at the pissed off faces. "Yes?"

The girl who stepped forward was tall, pretty (like every other Aphrodite camper), Asian, had dark brown hair and warm brown eyes. Roxanna figured that before the little… episode, the girl would have had plenty of jewelry on and perfect makeup. Thought now, there was lipstick in her hair, which reassembled a woolen ball, and the little Roxanna could still see of her "perfect" makeup was a lot of pink eyeliner. The girl smelled like she just taken a roll in a pile of nutmeg and pine branches, giving off an over all smell of Christmas.

In the girl's hand was a golden mango, and Roxanna could just make out the words written on it: _For the hottest._

The girl narrowed her eyes, no longer warm. "Where are they?" she demanded coolly.

"Where's who?" Roxanna looked up at the girl, tilting her head to the side.

"The ones who did this!"

Roxanna shock her head in mock disappointment. "Honestly, how should I know who's responsible for doing whatever that's wrong with you?" Roxanna continued to look up at the girl, never breaking the invisible string between their eyes.

Then, someone shouted, "It was Connor and Travis, I'm sure of it!"

"Ohhhh! You mean Tweedledee and Tweedledum?" Roxanna gained a look of feigned understanding and much of the Aphrodite campers' attention.

"Yes," the girl hissed. "now where are they?"

"Donno." Roxanna shrugged. "But, if don't mind me asking, who got it?"

The girl frowned. "Got _what_?"

"The Golden Mango. Who's the hottest?" Roxanna actually managed to look genially curious.

The girl puffed her chest out, holding the golden mango up in front of her. "I got it, of course."

The other Aphrodite campers yelled in protest, pushing their way up, trying to snatch the mango for themselves.

"What!"

"_I'm_ the hottest!"

"You look like something that came out of a clown's garbage bin!"

"No! _I_ am the hottest!"

"Shut up!"

"You don't have any fashion sense!"

The whole of cabin 10 started ripping each other's clothes again, but this time they didn't have anything to throw, so they punched anyone they could get their hands on.

Roxanna suppressed a grin. To think that just asking about whom got the mango actually worked. She quietly slid off the steps, easily sneaking away. Roxanna continued to walk, past the other campers, past the stone-lined fire pit – where she waved at the girl that always seemed to be there -, past the cabins and over to the mess hall. She had a feeling the two pranksters were there.

The minute Roxanna set foot in the mess hall pavilion, she was pulled to the side.

"That was brilliant!"

"You got them to start fighting again!"

Exclaimed the brothers, grinning down at their new partner in crime. Roxanna smiled impishly up at the two in response.

The three continued to hide from the Aphrodite campers, who was looking everywhere for the trio (no need to make it easy for cabin 10, I say). So the trio hid where no Aphrodite camper would ever go, that included the armoury, the forge and Zeus's Fist (or the Poop pile as it was commonly known as), which was where our trio of troublemakers hid themselves.

They all sat on top of it, eating the Popsicles (no such thing as hyper demigods!) that Connor and Travis had "borrowed", as they put it. Roxanna sat between the two, dangling her feet over the side, and listening intently to the brothers going on and on about their new master prank.

"We could get some bang snaps."

"Use some tape to hold the bang snap in place, under the toilet seat."

"Put the toilet seat down."

"And wait for the victim!"

Roxanna suddenly pictured an oblivious camper going to the toilet, sitting down then…

POP!

It wasn't a very pretty picture, even if it was just in her head, but it sounded fun.

The sun set on its way down, the whole camp getting darker, as time went by. Soon, the three demigods had to go back, before it got too dark. Travis had told Roxanna that even thought the forest was nice at daytime, it wasn't something she would like to see at night-time. Roxanna somehow doubted that, since she loved the darkness above all else, but she wasn't about to argue or complain.

As they walked past the beach, Roxanna saw a lone figure sitting there.

"Go on without me." she said to the brothers and ran over to Percy, standing beside him. "Hey." She said softly, as to not surprise him.

Percy didn't take his eyes of the calm waters. "Hey."

Percy looked troubled, so to say, his eyes distant and lost in memory.

Roxanna frowned down at her friend. "Spit it out."

"It… it's my mom…" Percy sighed. "What now? Am I going to live with Gabe?" he gave a bitter laugh.

Roxanna sat down, frowning, but still didn't say anything.

"She just disappeared." Percy continued. "Just like that! She dissolved into yellow light, right in front of my eyes."

Then Roxanna's eyes widen. How could she have been so stupid? "Percy," Said boy looked over, and before Roxanna could stop herself, she said, "people don't dissolve into yellow light when they die."

"So you think…?" Percy's eyes held a hopeful glint. "I could maybe bring her back?"

"I don't know, Percy, but if you're going to do that, you're gonna need help." Roxanna mock saluted. "Roxanna Fleur, Daughter of Hades, at your service."

Percy smiled, and the two continued to look out at the ocean.

"Hey! I nearly forgot." Roxanna took out a Popsicle, holding it out to Percy. "Here."

She'd gotten the Popsicle from Connor and Travis, they said that they didn't need it, they had a whole stock back in the cabin.

Percy shook his head. "No thanks."

Roxanna narrowed her eyes, but then said, "Oh what am I to do with this _blue_ Popsicle?" she mock sighed. "And it's a strawberry flavoured one at that too. Guess I'll just have to throw it out-"

"No!" protested Percy.

"You want it then?" Roxanna smiled.

Percy huffed but took the Popsicle nonetheless, making Roxanna smirk.

"Your welcome."

And so came and went another long day.

* * *

**I know, really sappy stuff with the Hey there Delilah, but hey! I thought it would be a cute way to give Roxanna a few friends at the orphanage ^^ Anyway, so this was a kind of way for me to show you how Roxanna had it before Percy and Grover, and how she made some new friends. All in all, it was a bit of a depressing chappie, I'll make up for it soon, I promise!**

**Please review, I love to read them! And they make me happy ^^**


	9. Who wins, a child of Athena or Hades?

**gabrielsangel23**: Consider this story updated! Thanks and I hope my story will continue to live up to your hopes ^^

**Lvl-ZeR0**: Thank you, thank you, thank you, and I'll be sure to relax a little extra this weekend *nods head in agreement* … ummm… my… imagination? … *nods head while crossing arms* Yep, we're going pretty steady… just saying…

**Guest**: Thank you :) I thought it would be funnier that way too

**chocolatelover1999**: See! I got it out this week! Thank you~ ^^

**Sam99**: Thanks ^^

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my OCs.**

* * *

_**Chapter 8**_

"_**Who wins, a child of Athena or Hades?"**_

* * *

The next few days past like a blur. It felt so normal to Roxanna that it didn't even faze her that nearly the whole camp evaded her. Of course, there was that little detail that Roxanna was being taught by satyrs, nymphs and a centaur, but that became practically the same as an American buying a hamburger. **(A/N No offense meant by it!)**

Each morning Roxanna took Ancient Greek from Annabeth with Percy and Daimon, but pretty much zoned out until they were to learn how to read Ancient Greek, which pissed Annabeth off to no end. Roxanna quickly found out that Ancient Greek wasn't any harder than English, maybe even easier.

Roxanna had dropped archery (and pegasi riding, because… well, does she really need to explain that one?), partly because she didn't want to learn it, Roxanna was a more up-and-personal kind of fighter, and partly because Kayla and some of the other Apollo campers still hated Roxanna's guts. So she was with the Ares and Athena cabins, instead, and was taught about war, what strategies went best with certain weapons/fighters and what strategies went best against certain weapons/fighters.

Then Roxanna would foot race with the dryads. Turns out, Roxanna was pretty fast and swift, her small frame making it easier for her to get through small gaps between trees or boulders.

Roxanna took swordsmanship with the Hermes cabin. Daimon had been right, Luke was really good, but that only made Roxanna more determined to beat him. She was rather glad that Luke didn't seem to hate or evade her.

Tweedledum and Tweedledee – or, well, Conner and Travis – was as always getting into trouble, thought Roxanna was just as guilty as them. The two brothers thought that if she was to be a master pranker, she had to learn some… nifty tricks. They taught her how to hotwire a car – thought Roxanna wasn't sure she'd ever be using that particular skill -, how to pickpocket, hide in the most obvious places and so on and so forth, whatever would come in handy.

After a long day, Roxanna would meet up with Daimon and Percy at the beach, talk about their day and just hang out. Daimon had become a really good friend to Roxanna, though, he still seemed to hate Percy. The feelings obviously became mutual, they didn't get alone and they certainly weren't planing on it anytime soon.

Roxanna knew the senior campers and counselors were watching Percy, most likely trying to figure out who his father was, which Roxanna thought was funny. Hundreds of campers watching one person, and they still couldn't work it out, that, or they just didn't want to admit that another god broke the oath.

She also knew that some of them were watching her, rather warily. Roxanna thought that maybe they were afraid she would suddenly snap and destroy the whole camp.

She found it quite hilarious really.

Despite all that, Roxanna liked camp. She especially loved the morning fog over the beach, the smell of hot strawberry fields in the afternoon and how the forest looked in the moonlight at night, when she looked out her window because she couldn't sleep. She would eat dinner at table twelve, with Mr. D, Chiron and Castor and Pollux, she'd scrape part of her meal into the fire, and think of her dad.

Thought, all she got was the same feeling she always got when she was wrapped in shadows, a weird comfortable warmth.

Roxanna started to see why most of the undetermined, the minor gods' children and Luke resented the gods or their godly parent.

The gods had important things to do, but that didn't mean they couldn't call once in a while, or thunder, or something?

Mr. D could make Diet Coke appear out of thin air. Why couldn't the gods make a phone appear?

But Roxanna knew better, she wasn't about to blame every immortal because her dad didn't call or something, no she definitely knew better. She blamed who ever made the Ancient laws.

So honestly, things were starting to look up for the daughter of Hades.

When Friday came by, Roxanna was absolutely joyous. The idea of setting the cabins against each other interested her greatly – or should I say _trilled her_, instead. Roxanna hadn't made any alliances yet, seeing as she's been a bit busy, but she had an idea of whom she wanted to be with.

There was the Athena cabin, which had the Hermes and Apollo cabins to back them up, the two biggest cabins.

The Hermes campers were fast and swift, and Roxanna was sure that they would be putting traps up here and there. Apollo's kids were all masters with the bow, and could hit you from a pretty decent distance if you weren't careful. Athena was the goddess of wisdom, battle and strategy (and a bunch of other stuff), so Roxanna was sure that they'd have a good plan… and a backup plan, and probably a backup plan for the backup plan, unless they were too confident in their skills, which would be a great opportunity for the other team. Roxanna wasn't very sure of the undetermined, since she had no idea of whom their godly parents were, but she wasn't about to underestimate them.

And than there was the Ares cabin, which had the rest: Dionysus, Demeter, Hephaestus and Aphrodite.

Roxanna knew that the Aphrodite campers wouldn't be much help. They'd be sitting by the lake checking their reflections, doing their hair and gossip about who knows what. Mr. D's kids were good athletes and had a bit control over nature, but they were only the two of them. Hephaestus had four kids, who were all big and burly from working in the metal shop all day. Demeter's kids had the advantage with nature but they weren't exactly that aggressive. The Ares campers were all big and strong, maybe a bit rash, but their father was the god of war, that had to count for something.

So with that, Roxanna walked over to the big group in the arena, where she was sure to find who she was looking for. Brownish hair stuck up in the middle, half hidden by a bandana.

"Clarisse." Roxanna called, as she stood in front of the group.

Clarisse pushed her way to the front, as all the others, except a few, looked at bit wary at the daughter of Hades.

"Roxanna." Clarisse greeted. "I thought you were with Prissy and Wise Girl."

Roxanna grimaced. "'Wise Girl' and I don't get along that well, Perce is still a part of the Hermes cabin, and I don't really feel like having to take orders from Bird Brain."

"So what are you gonna do?" Clarisse raised an eyebrow.

Roxanna grinned in response. "Well…"

Friday afternoon, Roxanna was sitting with Percy (who was resting from a near-death experience on the climbing-wall) and Grover at the lake.

Grover had scampered to the top like a mountain goat, Roxanna following behind at a decent pace, dodging the lava and stones. But the lava had almost gotten Percy, his shirt had smoking holes in it, and Roxanna could see the hairs had been singed off his forearms.

The three of them sat on the pier, Roxanna was watching the naiads doing underwater basket-weaving, as she zoned out.

Poseidon and Zeus were fighting, that much she knew, but about what? What could possibly make two _grown_ men fight? Something important enough to start a war, and it couldn't be god that's been kidnapped (or is it godnapped?), because then there would have already been a World War 3. No, it was something else, something powerful most likely, something that only Poseidon and Zeus had. But Roxanna was pretty sure there wasn't a thing that they only had, the two of them, so she had to expand her circle a little.

Hades, Poseidon and Zeus, they all had something in common, something very powerful. And if it was Poseidon and Zeus fighting, then that meant…

"_Annabeth asked me if I knew what was stolen."_

Roxanna's eyes widen in realization and she nearly cursed out loud.

Someone had successfully stolen one of the big three's symbol of power. And since the gods can't directly steal from each other, that only left one possibility left…

Their children.

_Holy sh-_

Then, Roxanna suddenly heard Percy say, "But Hades doesn't have a cabin here."

They were getting to an interesting topic. Roxanna pushed aside what she just found out, and started to listen to Percy and Grover.

"No." Grover said, looking uncomfortable. "He doesn't have a throne on Olympus, either. He sort of does his own thing down in the Underworld. If he did have a cabin here..." Grover suddenly shuddered, but then looked over at the daughter of Hades, who was narrowing her eyes at him.

"What? Am I that bad, Groves?" she asked, her tone slightly offended.

Grover gained a look of panic. "No! N-no, t-that wasn't w-what I meant!"

Roxanna simply raised an eyebrow, humming in disbelief.

"I-i-it's just that a-all his o-other children," Grover cleared his throat nervously. "they were all… well, _scary _and a bit on the psychotic side if you ask me…"

Roxanna still had her eyes narrowed at the poor satyr, but let it slide (this time). She then waved her hand nonchalantly in the air, gesturing for them to carry on.

"Zeus and Poseidon," Percy continued, obviously remembering his and Roxanna's talk. "they both had, like, a bazillion kids in the myths. Why are their cabins empty?"

Grover shifted his hooves uncomfortably, while Roxanna listened closely.

"About sixty years ago, after World War II, the Big Three agreed they wouldn't sire any more heroes. Their children were just too powerful. They were affecting the course of human events too much, causing too much carnage. World War II, you know, that was basically a fight between the sons of Zeus and Poseidon on one side, and the sons of Hades on the other. The winning side, Zeus and Poseidon, made Hades swear an oath with them: no more affairs with mortal women. They all swore on the River Styx."

Thunder boomed overhead.

"That's the most serious oath you can make." Percy stated.

Grover nodded in confirmation.

"And obviously some didn't keep their promise." Roxanna said deadpan.

"What about the others – no kids?"

Grover's face had darkened, seemingly remembering a memory that hadn't been all that good. "Seventeen years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon. There was this TV starlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo – he just couldn't help himself. When their child was born, a little girl named Thalia… well, the River Styx is serious about promises. Zeus himself got off easy because he's immortal, but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter."

"But that isn't fair." Percy said, clearly a little put off. "It wasn't the little girl's fault."

"Yeah, and I'm practically fine," Roxanna added. "no terrible fate here."

Grover hesitated. "Percy, Roxanna, children of the Big Three have powers greater than other half-bloods. They have a strong aura, a scent that attracts monsters." He hesitated again. "Rox, you're a child of Hades, you have all those things. You'll be very powerful once you've found out how to control your powers, monsters will be more attracted to you than anyone."

"Oh, well that's just _fantastic_." Roxanna exclaimed with a groan, dropping her head in her hands. "Thanks, dad! Thanks a bunch!"

The two boys cracked a small smile at their friend, the tension still thick in the air.

Grover continued, "When Hades found out about the girl, he wasn't too happy about Zeus breaking his oath. Hades let the worst monsters out of Tartarus to torment Thalia." then, Grover said something that made Roxanna a bit suspicious, "A satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was twelve, but there was nothing he could do. He tried to escort her here with a couple of other half-bloods she'd befriended. They almost made it. They got all the way to the top of that hill."

Roxanna, remembering the rid home from Yancy, resisted the urge to narrow her eyes. Grover pointed across the valley, to the pine tree where Percy and Roxanna had fought the Minotaur.

"All three Kindly Ones were after them, along with a horde of hellhounds. They were about to be overrun when Thalia told her satyr to take the other two half-bloods to safety while she held off the monsters. She was wounded and tired, and she didn't want to live like a hunted animal. The satyr didn't want to leave her, but he couldn't change her mind, and he had to protect the others. So Thalia made her final stand alone, at the top of that hill." Grover cleared his throat for the lump that had sat itself there, Roxanna wasn't fooled, he was clearly chocking up, but she seem to be that only one to see that. "As she died, Zeus took pity on her. He turned her into that pine tree. Her spirit still helps protect the borders of the valley. That's why the hill is called Half-Blood Hill."

Percy stared at the pine in the distance, and Roxanna looked at her friend, concerned. She could see that he felt hollow, and guilty too, but she didn't press into it. Sometimes it was better to figure things out for yourself, and this was one of them.

Roxanna looked at the big Christmas-ish tree. A girl her age had sacrificed herself to save her friends. She had faced a whole army of monsters. All because the gods sucked at holding promises, and therefore bringing their children a fate they didn't deserve. Roxanna felt that naïve part of her, which still had some respect for the gods, demolish.

"Grover," Percy said, "Have heroes really gone on quests to the Underworld?"

"Sometimes," Grover said. "Orpheus. Hercules. Houdini."

"And have they ever returned somebody from the dead?"

"Nope." Roxanna said, popping the _p_. "But Orpheus came close once. Orpheus played such sad and mournful songs that it softened my dad and stepmother's hearts, and so my dad agreed on one condition: Orpheus had to walk in front of his wife and not look back until they both had reached the upper world. Apparently Orpheus had become so anxious that when _he_ had reached the upper world, he looked back, losing his wife because she was still in the Underworld." Roxanna shrugged. "He then later got killed by Maenads for not honoring his previous patron, which was Mr. D." she finished rather nonchalant.

Grover suddenly looked alarmed, as if someone had just told him they were all out of enchiladas. "Percy, you're not seriously thinking-"

"No," he lied. "I was just wondering. So… a satyr is always assigned to guard a demigod?"

Grover studied Percy warily. Percy hadn't sounded all that sincere when he lied, and Roxanna told herself that she needed to talk to Conner and Travis about lying lessons, or at least acting lessons.

"Not always." Grover answered. "We go undercover to a lot of schools. We try to sniff out the half-bloods who have the makings of great heroes. If we find one with a very strong aura, like a child of the Big Three, we alert Chiron. He tries to keep an eye on them, since they could cause really huge problems."

Roxanna hit Grover on the shoulder halfhearted and glared playfully. "You wanna risk repeating that?"

Percy smiled at the two. "And you found Roxanna and me."

Grover looked as if I'd just led him into a trap. "Oh, listen, don't think like that. If you _were_—you know—you'd never _ever _be allowed a quest. You're probably a child of Hermes. Or maybe even one of the minor gods, like Nemesis, the god of revenge. Don't worry, okay?"

"Grover, dear, Nemesis is a god_dess_, you know, _female_."

At last, it was time for capture the flag.

When the plates were cleared away, the horn sounded and all stood up by their tables. Campers yelled and cheered as Feath- sorry, _Annabeth_ and two of her siblings – one being the boy who stopped the fight, and Roxanna was pretty sure he was called Malcolm – ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree.

From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and two of her siblings ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.

Roxanna turned to Castor, who she was standing next to since she was sat at table twelve, and yelled over the noise, "Does Ares and Athena always lead the teams?"

"Most of the time, yeah." he said.

Roxanna nodded, understanding, Athena and Ares were both gods who had something to do with war, so it was only natural that their kids had some kind of understanding for those things.

The teams were announced. Athena, Apollo and Hermes were the blue team. Ares, Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus were the red team. Though Roxanna already knew this, she found it rather funny that privileges had been traded to get the others on their team – shower times, chore schedules, the best slots for activities and so on.

Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble.

"Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. And please try and be careful with wounding others. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"

As soon as the game started, Roxanna ran straight for the lake, readjusting her helmet, which had a red plum, all the time so she could see. The Ares cabin and their supporters all had red plumes, while the Athena cabin and their supporters had blue. After some time Roxanna threw her shield and – with some difficulty – helmet to the side, which was _way_ too big for her small frame (she was pretty sure she could have snowboarded on the shield just fine), as it only slowed her down.

The Ares cabin had the northern woods, while Athena had the southern.

It was a warm, sticky night. The woods were dark, with fireflies popping in and out of view, as Roxanna ran passed trees, jumped over boulders and scanned the area for enemies. Luckily, she didn't run into any and she finally made it to the lake, where the Aphrodite campers were talking in loud voices.

Roxanna slowed down to a walk, as a girl camper spotted her.

Her hair was black, long, silky and wavy, and she had pretty sapphire blue eyes. She was slim and a very beautiful girl, who Roxanna could imagine was stared at by everyone. Roxanna remembered that the girl was called Silena and was the Aphrodite cabin's counselor.

Roxanna noticed that the loud voices had become silent now, everyone looking at her with a bit of curiosity but also fear. Silena had stood up, looking at Roxanna warily.

Roxanna smirked. "I have a proposal."

Percy was standing by the creek alone, with his big blue-feathered helmet and his huge shield, he felt like an idiot. The bronze sword, like all the swords Percy had tried so far, seemed balanced wrong. The leather grip pulled on his hand like a bowling ball.

_There was no way anybody would actually attack me, would they?_, Percy thought, a bit panicked. _I mean, Olympus had to have liability issues, right?_

Though, even thought Percy was a bit panicked, he was also a bit put out that he was missing out on the fun, as always. Far away the clanking of metal, kids fighting, was heard.

Then Percy heard a sound that sent a chill up his spine, a low canine growl, somewhere close by. He raised his shield out of instinct; Percy had the feeling that some thing was stalking him.

Then the growling stopped, and Percy felt the presence retreating.

On the other side of the creek, the underbrush exploded. Five Ares warriors came out of the dark, Clarisse leading them.

"Get him!" Clarisse screamed.

Her brown eyes glared through the slits of her helmet. She brandished a five-foot-long spear, its barbed metal tip flickering with red light. Her siblings had only the standard-issue bronze swords.

Not that any of that made Percy feel better.

They charged across the stream, spreading out, making a half circle around Percy. No help was in sight. Percy could either run, or defend himself against half the Ares cabin.

Percy may not look it, or show it for that matter, but he had learned quite a lot in the small amount of time he had been at camp. Sure, he still felt awkward as fuck with any kind of sword, but he had trained a lot and was beginning to live up to his potential, and he was going to use it.

Percy sidestepped the first guy's swing. Sadly, they weren't as stupid as the Minotaur.

The guy, who had swung at Percy, tried for a stab but Percy duck under the blade and slashed up. The guy blocked, kicked Percy in the stomach and took a step back. Percy clutched his aching stomach, standing up. They both charged, and at the last second Percy sidestepped and whacked the guy on the head with his shield.

The guy crumbled to the ground, lying in a heap.

One down, four to go.

Percy looked at the still standing Ares campers, with suspicion. "Are you playing fair, War Girl?"

"Shut up, Prissy," Clarisse growled. "you should thank your friend, she told us to go easy on you."

Clarisse gestured for another guy to step forward, and Percy instinctively backed towards the creek.

Percy raised his shield, but the guy was obviously much stronger than just like that, and Percy heard and _felt_ the sword hitting his shield very hard. The guy kept pushing down on the shield, as Percy was forced to take a couple of steps back. Percy quickly let go of his shield, casting it aside as he hit the guy in the side.

The guy held a hand to his armored side, where Percy had hit him, but then stood up straighter. Even thought Percy prepared himself, he was still knocked back into the creek by the powerful blow from the Ares guy's sword.

The guy smirked. "See? Not all that hard." He boasted.

But then something happened. The water seemed to wake up Percy's senses, as if he'd just had a bag of his mom's double-espresso jellybeans.

The guy came into the creek to get Percy, but Percy stood to meet him. Percy felt a newfound confidence. Percy swung the flat of his sword against the Ares guy's head and knocked his helmet clean off. Percy hit him so hard he could see the guy's eyes vibrating as he crumpled into the water.

Two down, three to go.

A new guy came forward. Percy swung his sword, locking weapons with the guy. The guy pushed, but Percy gave a final push and the guy stumbled back. Percy took advantage of the situation and slammed the hilt of his sword in between the guy's eyes, knocking him out.

Two.

The next guy didn't seem all that anxious to fight, but attacked nonetheless. Percy parried, swiftly taking the guy out like the others before him. Finally Clarisse stepped forward.

One.

"Roxanna is gonna have to wipe you of the ground when I'm done with you." She sneered.

"Oh yeah?" Percy growled. "You sure it's not the other way around?"

Clarisse thrust her spear at Percy, cutting at his side in the progress as he dodged. Percy felt a painful tingling all over his body. His hair stood on end. His side went slightly numb, and the armor burned slightly.

Electricity. Her freaking spear was electric.

Percy stumbled back.

Clarisse swung her spear down, but Percy managed at parry, sword just under the tip of Clarisse's spear. This time, Percy kicked Clarisse in the stomach, making her fall down. Percy slashed after Clarisse but she rolled out of the way and swiftly got to her feet. Clarisse struck after Percy, she was too fast, and her spear stuck Percy straight in the ribs. If he hadn't been wearing an armored breastplate, he would've been shish-kebabbed. But the numbness quickly went away.

Percy felt the shocked even in his teeth, wondering briefly if they would fall out of his mouth.

He shook the shock off and used his sword to shear off Clarisse's horsehair plume. They kept going like that: slashing, dodging, stabbing, thrusting, swinging, ducking. But Clarisse kept coming, her spear crackling with energy as she attacked.

Just as they got into a lock with their weapons, they heard yelling, elated screams. Percy saw Silena racing toward the boundary line with the blue team's banner lifted high, Roxanna following close behind, guarding Silena against attacks.

They were followed by a couple of Hermes guys, who were trying to get the flag back. But whenever they got too close Roxanna would attack, working fast and swiftly, just making sure that they didn't get within range of the flag. She didn't seem that interested in knocking them out.

A few Apollo campers were behind them, fighting with the Hephaestus kids. The Ares guys got up, and Clarisse smirked in triumph.

"Who would have known?" she said. "She got the Aphrodite campers to help after all."

They ran after Silena and Roxanna, providing backup. Everybody converged on the creek as the two ran across into friendly territory. The red side exploded into cheers. The blue banner shimmered and turned to pink. The barn owl and olive tree were replaced with a huge white dove, the symbol of cabin ten. Everybody on the red team picked up Silena and started carrying her around on their shoulders. Chiron cantered out from the woods and blew the conch horn.

Roxanna released a grateful sigh.

The game was over. They – the red team – had won.

Roxanna moved through the crowd, getting pats of approval on the back as she did, and with a little effort she finally got out. She scanned the area and saw Percy talking with Annabeth, looking rather angry.

Roxanna quickly moved over to her friend and caught the last part of Percy's sentence, "-ou sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured out."

Annabeth shrugged. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan."

"A plan to get me pulverized."

"I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in, but..." She shrugged. "You didn't need help."

Then Annabeth noticed Roxanna, who stood before the two, and sneered. "Did you come to boast?"

"Well," Roxanna mock benevolent, smiled. "that was my intention at first, but then I figured that just being near you would be more irritating." Roxanna grinned. "Your welcome."

Annabeth gritted her teeth. "You must be pretty tired from all that running, so why don't you slip into something more comfortable? Like a coma?"

Roxanna then looked genuinely curious, cocking her head to the side. "You know, I've wondered, Feather Face,"

"Oh, you _can_ actually think?"

Roxanna grinned. "Yeah, you should try it sometime."

Annabeth growled, gritting her teeth.

"But that wasn't the point," Roxanna continued. "I've wondered, are you stupid because you're blonde, or are you blonde because you're stupid?"

Percy cut Annabeth off before another fight could break out between the two rivals. "Hey now, be nice, can't you two be civil for once?"

"No." was Percy's only answer from the two as they continued their glaring contest.

Percy sighed, and as he stepped out of the water he immediately felt bone tired. His side and body started to go numb again. Percy's adrenaline rush left him. He almost fell over, but Roxanna quickly steadied him.

She hummed in disapproval and worried her bottom lip slightly, frowning. "I was right."

Before Percy could ask what she meant, he heard that canine growl again, but much closer than before. A howl ripped through the forest.

The campers' cheering died instantly. Chiron shouted something in Ancient Greek, which Percy translated perfectly: "_Stand ready_!_ My bow_!"

Roxanna had her sword forth within seconds.

There on the rocks just above them was a black hound the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers.

It was looking straight at Percy.

Nobody moved except Roxanna, who yelled, "Percy, run!"

She tried to step in front of him, but the hound was too fast. It leaped over her – an enormous shadow with teeth – and just as it hit Percy, he stumbled backward and felt its razor-sharp claws ripping through his armor, there was a cascade of thwacking sounds, like forty pieces of paper being ripped one after the other.

Roxanna acted fast, she slashed deeply at the hellhound's side as a cluster of arrows sprouted from the hound's neck. The monster fell dead at Percy's feet. The body of the hellhound melted into shadow, soaking into the ground until it disappeared.

She moved swiftly over to Percy, whose chest armor was shredded and wet with crimson blood. Roxanna could feel the still warm blood on her hands as she checked Percy pulse, and laid a hand over his heart. Another second, and the monster would've turned Percy into a hundred pounds of delicatessen meat.

Chiron trotted up next to them, a bow in his hand, his face grim.

_"Di immortales!"_ Annabeth said. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't... they're not supposed to..."

"Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp."

Silena came over, the banner in her hand forgotten as Roxanna gave her a curious look. Silena shook her head, and mouthed, _"You helped us, now we'll help you."_

Roxanna nodded her head gratefully.

She was glad Percy seemed to have good luck in dire situations. She helped Percy up, just as Annabeth yelled, "What are you doing!"

"Shut up and watch." Roxanna sent a death glare in Annabeth's direction.

Roxanna let go off Percy slowly, making sure he could stand and told him to get into the water.

"I'm okay." Percy said.

She gave him a stern look. "No, you're not."

Percy, too tired to argue, stepped back into the creek, the whole camp gathering around him. Instantly, he felt better. Percy could feel the cuts on his chest closing up. Some of the campers gasped, as Roxanna gave a weak smile.

"Look, I-I don't know why," Percy said, trying to apologize. "I'm sorry..."

But the campers weren't watching Percy's wounds heal. They were staring at something above his head.

"Oh, Styx," Annabeth cursed. "This is _not _good. I didn't want… I assumed it would be Zeus…"

Roxanna chuckled slightly, jerking her head up. "Look up, Perce."

As Percy looked up, the sign was already fading, but he could still make out the hologram of green light, spinning and gleaming. A three-tipped spear: a trident.

"Your father," Annabeth murmured. "This is _really _not good."

"It is determined," Chiron announced.

All around Percy, campers started kneeling, though the Ares campers didn't look happy about it. Roxanna, who was smiling at her friend with crossed arms, was the only one not kneeling.

"My father?" Percy asked, completely bewildered.

"Poseidon," said Chiron. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."

"Travis, Connor," Roxanna called. "you owe me ten drachmas… each."

* * *

**Ummmmm... not really that much to say ^_^" ... REVIEW!**


	10. The quest for a teddy bear

**A/N**

**Wow… it's… been long O_o Sorry for not updating earlier but homework has been a freaking bitch to me -_- and it will continue to be so… But I've made it up to you (hopefully) by making this much longer than usual! (I usually make about 7-9 pages and this is **_**16!**_**)**

**Anyway, I just want to thank all those people who favored/altered/reviewed this story! It means a ton to me! ^^**

**Sam99**: Thaaaaaaaaaannnnk yoooouuuuu! XD

**k1demmin**: Well thank you anyway for favoring my story, hope you get around to reading the rest ^^ (well, you kinda did if your reading this so…)

**Lvl-ZeR0**: Thank you, and don't worry I'll take good care of imagination *nods head* You'll get an invitation to our wedding very soon :)

Roxanna: I guess it's okay, I mean, I get to do pranks with Connor and Travis, which is always fun, and insult Annabeth all I want to (we've never gotten along as you can see), and hang out with my friends *shrugs*

**GhostOfAWolf**: *bows* Thank you, thank you, and I will absolutely do my best!

**DeathmatchDrunkard**: Well, Roxanna is a child of Hades and she doesn't live with the Hermes cabin, and I've always thought that if you were claimed by a god or goddess who didn't have a cabin then you would of course live with the Hermes cabin, but be able to chose which side you wanted to be on in Capture the Flag. Besides, Hades is technically a part of the counsel (one day a year) he just doesn't have a cabin.

**gabrielsangel23**: THANK YOU~! Here's a chappie for you!

**Anaklusmos14**: Thank you, darling! ^^

**Disclaimer: Why do I even bother with writing this? You all know that I don't own the PJO series or get any kind of profit from writing this…**

* * *

_**Chapter 10**_

"_**A quest for the electric teddy bear of mass destruction."**_

* * *

Percy got moved to cabin three the next morning.

The cabin was low, long and solid, with all the windows facing the sea. The outer walls were rough gray stone with pieces of seashell and coral, and it looked like the bottom of the ocean floor (pure guessing there). On the inside it had six empty bunk beds and the walls glowed like abalone.

Percy, being an only child, didn't have to share with anybody. He had plenty of room for all his stuff, which was at the amazing count of three: the Minotaur's horn, one set of spare clothes, and a toiletry bag. He got to sit at his own dinner table, pick all his own activities, call "lights out" whenever he felt like it, and not listen to anybody else.

Percy was absolutely miserable. He couldn't see how Roxanna could take it, but then again, Roxanna never had a problem with being alone, or so he thought.

Just when Percy started to feel accepted, he gets claimed. Not that it was a bad thing. All the different cabins treated Percy like he was a rare animal or something of the sort, ignoring him completely, of course there were the few exceptions like, Grover, Luke and Roxanna.

The Athena cabin evaded Percy like the plague, scowling and looking as if he poked them between the eyes whenever he saw them. Annabeth kept muttering to herself: "Quest… Poseidon?... Dirty rotten… Got to make a plan…"

Thought nobody mentioned the hellhound incident, Roxanna still got the feeling nearly ever camper blamed her. Roxanna was sure that being the daughter of Hades had its pecks, but this definitely wasn't one of them. As said, nearly everyone blamed her (no surprise there), and everyone had a different reaction. Most glared at her when they thought she wasn't aware, others whispered behind her back, some didn't even bother keeping their voices down so everyone in a 10feet radius could hear.

The attack had clearly scared everyone.

But Roxanna was in luck, a few campers did believe her – she was innocent – that included Clarisse, Connor and Travis (the two lovable troublemakers), Grover, Percy, Daimon, Luke and surprisingly, Silena.

Roxanna became used to having sword lessons with Percy and Luke, none of the others wanted to. And so, it quickly became a two-on-one lesson.

Luke pushed them harder than before, and obviously wasn't afraid to bruise the two friends in the process.

"You're going to need all the training you can get," he said, as they were working with swords and flaming torches ("Yes!" came Roxanna's trilled voice when she heard that). "Now try that viper-beheading strike again, you two. Fifty more repetitions."

Annabeth still taught Percy and Roxanna Greek in the mornings, but she seemed distracted. Roxanna, of course, went out of her way to annoy the blonde, mostly because every time Percy said something, Annabeth scowled at him, as if he'd said something offending, secondly, because it was actually fun.

That night, Percy had his worst dream yet.

He was running along the beach in a storm (no surprise, storms seemed to be the theme right now). This time, there was a city behind Percy. But not New York like he thought it would be at first. The sprawl was different: buildings spread farther apart, palm trees and low hills in the distance.

About a hundred yards down the surf, two men were fighting. They looked like TV wrestlers, muscular, with beards and long hair. Both wore flowing Greek tunics, one trimmed in blue, the other in green. They grappled with each other, wrestled, kicked and head-butted, and every time they connected, lightning flashed, the sky grew darker, and the wind rose.

Percy knew he had to stop them. He didn't know why thought. But the harder he ran, the more the wind blew him back, until he was running in place, his heels digging uselessly in the sand.

Over the roar of the storm, Percy could hear the blue-robed one yelling at the green-robed one, _Give it back! Give it back! _Much like a kindergartner fighting over a toy (in this case: a teddy bear).

The waves got bigger, crashing into the beach, spraying Percy with salt.

_Stop it! Stop fighting! _he yelled.

The ground shook. Laughter came from somewhere under the earth, and a voice so deep and evil it turned Percy's blood to ice. He remembered that voice, it was the same from his dream before Grover had come to the cabin in Montauk.

_Come down, little hero, _the voice crooned. _Come down!_

The sand split beneath Percy, like a giant mouth, opening up a crevice straight down to the center of the earth. His feet slipped, and darkness swallowed him up in one big gulp.

Percy woke, sure he was falling.

He was still in cabin three, sitting in one of the beds. Percy's body somehow told him it was early morning, as it was dark outside, but thunder was rolling across the hills. A storm was brewing. And like last time, he hadn't dreamed it.

Percy heard a clopping sound at the door, a hoof knocking on the threshold.

"Come in?" he said unsurely.

Who would be up at this time?

Grover trotted inside, looking worried. "Mr. D wants to see you."

"Why?" even as he said this, Percy had a slight idea of what it could be about. He was a child of the Poseidon, he wasn't meant to be alive, it was practically a crime. Maybe Mr. D was going to end him just because of that? Percy was sure Mr. D would have liked that, one less little brat to look after.

"He wants to kill... I mean, I'd better let him tell you."

That didn't exactly reassure Percy.

Percy got dressed, nervous and sure he was in trouble no matter what he said or did, and followed Grover.

To be honest, Percy had been expecting to be summoned to the Big House for days now. The other gods had probably been debating the best way to punish him for existing, and as said before, Mr. D would probably be ecstatic to deliver the judgment.

Over Long Island Sound, the sky looked like ink soup coming to a boil. A hazy curtain of rain was coming in our direction. Percy found himself asking Grover if they needed an umbrella.

"No," Grover said. "It never rains here unless we want it to."

"What the heck is that, then?" Percy said deadpan, raising an eyebrow and pointing at the rather obvious storm.

"It'll pass around us." Grover glanced uneasily at the sky. "Bad weather always does." But it sounded more like he was trying to reassure himself than Percy.

Thought Percy realized Grover was right. In the week he'd been here, it had never even been overcast. The few rain clouds Percy had seen had skirted right around the edges of the valley.

But Percy had a sinking feeling in his stomach… something big was about to happen.

At the volleyball pit, the Apollo campers were playing a morning game against the satyrs. Dionysus's twins were walking around in the strawberry fields, making the plants grow. Everybody was going about their normal business, but they looked tense. They kept their eyes on the storm.

Grover and Percy walked up to the front porch of the Big House. Mr. D sat at the pinochle table in his tiger-striped Hawaiian shirt with his Diet Coke, just as he had on Percy's first day.

The second the two met there was already lightning flying from each of their glares. Mr. D didn't like Percy, more so than the others, and that wasn't any secret.

Chiron sat across the table in his fake wheel chair, while Annabeth sat besides him. Chiron, Annabeth and Mr. D were playing against an invisible opponent – one set of cards hovering in the air.

"Well, well," Mr. D said without looking up. "Our little celebrity."

Percy waited, biting his tongue just so he wouldn't accidentally lash out at him.

"Come closer," Mr. D said, as bored as ever, thought there seemed to be something lying underneath the surface – nervousness. "And don't expect me to bow to you, mortal, just because old Barnacle-Beard is your father."

A net of lightning flashed across the clouds. Thunder shook the windows of the house.

"Blah, blah, blah," Mr. D said indifferently, but otherwise stayed quiet.

Chiron feigned (very poorly) interest in his pinochle cards. Grover cowered by the railing, his hooves clopping back and forth. Annabeth looked from Percy to Mr. D, and back again.

Percy still kept quiet, his tongue nearly numb.

Chiron, who sensed the danger was gone, smiled at Percy. "Sit, Percy, please. And Grover." he looked just like he did when he announced who Roxanna's father was.

The demigod and satyr sat down.

"Tell me, Percy," Chiron said. "What did you make of the hellhound?"

Percy held a shudder back. To be quite frank, the hellhound scared the shit out of him. Percy was thinking that Chiron probably wanted him to say, _"Pfff, that little puppy? It was nothing."_

But that hellhound was neither a puppy (he thought so anyway and if it was, he didn't want to see the mother) nor little.

And Percy didn't feel like lying.

"It scared me," he said honestly. "If you hadn't made it into a pin cushion and Roxanna sliced at its side, I'd be dead."

"You'll meet worse, Percy." (said boy grumbled a low, _"Nice to know."_) "Far worse, before you're done." Chiron continued.

Percy frowned, the sinking feeling in is stomach was back and even worse than before. "Done… with what?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Isn't it obvious! Your _quest_. Do you have absolutely no brain cells at all?"

"Will you accept it?" Chiron asked.

Percy first glanced at Grover, who was crossing his fingers, then he looked at Mr. D, who had been so unusually quiet, and then back at Chiron. Percy didn't feel like looking at Annabeth right now.

"Um, sir," Percy said, "you haven't told me what it is yet."

Chiron grimaced. "Well, that's the hard part, the details."

Thunder rumbled across the valley. The storm clouds had now reached the edge of the beach. It was as if the sky and the sea were boiling together, fighting for dominance.

"Poseidon and Zeus," Percy suddenly said. "They're fighting over something valuable… something that was stolen, aren't they?"

Chiron and Grover exchanged looks, Annabeth looked like she was on a sugar high, but Mr. D looked like he had half expected this and half curious.

"Poseidon's child indeed," Mr. D mumbled. "changeable, unpredictable."

Chiron then sat forward in his wheelchair, but not without sparing Mr. D a glance, curiosity shone in his brown eyes. "Percy, how did you know that?"

Percy blushed in embarrassment. He suddenly wished he hadn't opened his big mouth. "The weather since Christmas has been weird, like the sea and the sky are fighting. Then I talked to Annabeth, and she'd overheard something about a theft. I talked with Roxanna too," (Annabeth hissed.) "she seemed to know something and she also seemed to know I was a child of Poseidon. And… I've also been having these dreams."

"I knew it," Grover and Annabeth said.

"Hush, satyr, child," Chiron, and surprisingly Mr. D – who seemed to have taken some sort of interest in the talk, but that couldn't be true –, ordered.

"But it is his quest!" Grover's eyes were bright with excitement, completely forgetting he was talking back to Mr. D also. "It must be!"

"He's the one!" Annabeth continued. "I know it is!"

"Only the Oracle can determine." Chiron stroked his bristly beard. "Nevertheless, Percy, you are correct. Your father and Zeus are having their worst quarrel in centuries. They are fighting over something valuable that was stolen. To be precise: a lightning bolt."

Percy laughed nervously. "A _what_?"

"A lighting bolt, Perce." Roxanna said sleepily, leaning against the railing with her arms resting on it, her head lying comfortably in her palm. She yawned like a cat, clearly tired. "A two-foot-long cylinder of high-grade celestial bronze, capped on both ends with god-level explosives. It… well, let's just say it makes mortal hydrogen bombs look like firecrackers." Roxanna chuckled, as if the idea of the Master bolt's power entertained her. "It's the symbol of Zeus' power, which all other lightning bolts are patterned after. The first weapon made by the Cyclopes for the war against the Titans, the bolt that sheered the top off Mount Etna and hurled Kronos from his throne." She listed off from the top of her head.

At the questioning looks she got, Roxanna elaborated, "You learn quite a bit about weapons when you're with the Ares cabin as much as I am. Besides," she turned to look at Annabeth. "what are you doing here, feather face? Snooping around for some gossip?"

To Roxanna's amazement, Annabeth just smirked mockingly and said, "You'll see."

She stayed quiet for the rest of the talk.

Mr. D sighed and got up from his seat. "If I had my way," he said rather wishfully, "I would cause your molecules to erupt in flames. We'd sweep up the ashes and be done with a lot of trouble. But Chiron seems to feel this would be against my mission at this cursed camp: to keep you little brats safe from harm."

"Well isn't spontaneous combustion a form of harm?" Roxanna chimed in, raising an eyebrow.

"Nonsense," he said, waving it off easily. "Boy wouldn't feel a thing. Nevertheless, I've agreed to restrain myself – I was thinking of turning you into a dolphin instead, sending you back to your father."

"Mr. D-" Chiron warned.

"Oh, all right," Mr. D gave up reluctantly and rose, the invisible player's cards dropped to the table. "I'm off to Olympus for the emergency meeting. If the boy is still here when I get back, I'll turn him into an Atlantic bottlenose. Do you understand?"

Roxanna straitened up a bit. "Hey, Mr. D, there's something I've been wondering about." The only god there looked at the daughter of Hades, he raised an eyebrow as if saying, _'go on'_. "Why don't you try a nonalcoholic drink? Does it really have to be wine? Maybe a mixture of fruit and berries and stuff would be just as good. I remember hearing somewhere that you can get a very similar taste, almost like alcohol."

Mr. D looked like someone had slapped him with a rubber chicken. He blinked a couple of times, very owlishly, like the rest of the others that sat around the table, except for the daughter of Hades.

Mr. D didn't answer, instead, he picked up a playing card, twisted it, and it became a security pass. He gave Roxanna a good long look through narrowed eyes, trying to determine if she was sincere, or just as selfish and ungrateful as the other brats.

Mr. D scoffed. "Maybe some of you brats aren't so bad." then he snapped his fingers. The air seemed to fold and bend around him. He became a hologram, then a wind, then he was gone, leaving only the smell of fresh-pressed grapes lingering behind.

"Your welcome." Roxannna said, smirking, despite the man was already gone she had a feeling he heard.

Chiron sighed and laid his cards on the table, a winning hand he hadn't gotten to use.

"Do not take this lightly, Percy," Chiron then warned. "_or_ you, Roxanna." He sent a pointed look her way.

"Oh." Came Percy's ever-intelligent answer, while Roxanna just mumbled curt nothings into her arms, which sounded something like this: "Not… I wouldn't… his fault… he tried… bastard… why would… to kill… rude… deary uncle… _asshole_." Thunder quickly followed.

Percy choose to wise ignore his friend and instead, asked, "And the master bolt is missing?"

"Stolen," Chiron .

"Do you know by who?" asked Roxanna, as she really wanted to know.

"By _whom_," Chiron corrected.

Roxanna smiled lightly at that. Once a teacher, always a teacher.

"By the two of you."

Percy's mouth fell open, as the smile quickly fell off Roxanna's face, which was replaced by a dark look. Roxanna felt rage boiling in her veins, as the corners of her eyes slowly tinted red, spreading.

Percy felt disbelief flow through him, nonplussed. Anger quickly followed in its stead, tainting his thoughts of the gods. How could they get blamed? They didn't do anything!

The silver rings around Roxanna's pupils spread to the rest of her eyes, turning them into steel cold silver. Her eyes narrowed into a death glare that would have made the furies very proud.

Chiron took notice of the little change.

"What!" Roxanna yelled in outrage.

"At least," Chiron quickly held up a hand, rather nervous himself, to calm the two angry demigods down. "that's what Zeus thinks."

Roxanna grumbled some more curt words, her eyes turning back to their normal black and silver, as more thunder cracked overhead.

Chiron sent Roxanna another pointed look, before continuing, "During the winter solstice, at the last council of the gods, Zeus and Poseidon had an argument. The usual nonsense: 'Mother Rhea always liked you best,' Air disasters are more spectacular than sea disasters,' etcetera."

"How productive."

"Afterward, Zeus realized his master bolt was missing, taken from the throne room under his very nose. He immediately blamed Poseidon, and Hades as well. Now, a lot of people know that Hades really couldn't care less for his brothers' petty fights, but he will not stand down if someone accused him of something like this."

"And we," Roxanna pointed to Percy and herself. "are accused also because the gods can't take each others symbols of power _directly_."

Chiron nodded. "It is forbidden by the most ancient of divine laws. Zeus believes your fathers convinced a human hero to take it."

"But Sunshine and I didn't-"

"Patience and listen, children," Chiron said. "Zeus has good reason to be suspicious. The forges of the Cyclopes are under the ocean, which gives Poseidon some influence over the makers of his brother's lightning. Zeus believes Poseidon has taken the master bolt, and is now secretly having the Cyclopes build an arsenal of illegal copies, which might be used to topple Zeus from his throne. The only thing Zeus wasn't sure about was which hero Poseidon used to steal the bolt. Now Poseidon has openly claimed you, Percy, as his son. You were in New York over the winter holidays. You could easily have snuck into Olympus. Zeus believes he has found his thief."

"And why am I accused then?" Roxanna asked, the rage back again, and with that, her silver eyes. "Humor me, Chiron."

"Zeus thinks the master bolt would be useful in the Underworld. He knows, as everyone else, that Hades is bitter for being tricked into ruling the Underworld. Zeus thinks that Hades is conspiring with Poseidon to get a copy or the real thing as he wants to take Zeus's rule away – make a sixth age."

"Who is he to… Argh!" Roxanna exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air, as Percy yelled, "Zeus is crazy!"

Chiron and Grover both glanced nervously at the sky. The clouds didn't seem to be parting around them, as Grover had nervously promised. They were rolling straight over the valley, sealing the inhabitants in like a coffin lid.

"Er, Percy...?" Grover said. "We don't use the _c_-word to describe the Lord of the Sky."

"Perhaps _paranoid," _Chiron suggested. "Then again, Poseidon has tried to unseat Zeus before. I believe that was question thirty-eight on your final exam..." He looked at Percy and Roxanna as if he actually expected them to remember question thirty-eight.

Roxanna smiled. "The golden net. Poseidon and Hera, with the other gods, except for Hestia, trapped Zeus and made him promise to be a better leader."

"I'm guessing Zeus never really trusted Poseidon after that." Percy stated. "But how can anyone accuse us of stealing a god's weapon? I can't even steal a slice of pizza without getting busted by…" Percy stopped, glaring at the Big House's wall.

"That is correct," Chiron said. "Of course, Poseidon denies stealing the master bolt, Hades too. They took great offense at the accusation. Thought, it is only Poseidon and Zeus who have been arguing back and forth for months, threatening war. And now, you two have come along – the proverbial last straw."

"But we're just kids!" Percy exclaimed, as a growl emerged from the back of Roxanna's throat.

"Percy," Grover cut in, "if you were Zeus, and you already thought your brothers was plotting to overthrow you, then your brothers suddenly admitted they have broken the sacred oath they took after World War II, that they've fathered two new mortal heroes who might be used as a weapon against you... Wouldn't that put a twist in your toga?"

"But none of us did anything," Roxanna said, crossing her arms defiantly. "Just because our fathers may– _may_ – have gotten the master bolt stolen doesn't mean it was us. It's stupid to blame the children for something the parents did."

"Poseidon – my dad –" Percy corrected. "he didn't really have this master bolt stolen, did he?"

Chiron sighed. "Most thinking observers would agree that thievery is not Poseidon's nor Hades' style. But the Sea God is too proud to try convincing Zeus of that. And Hades is tired of trying – he knows no one will believe him. Zeus has demanded that they return the bolt by the summer solstice. That's June twenty-first, ten days from now."

Roxanna raised an eyebrow at that. She had a rather nasty feeling about this.

Chiron continued. "Poseidon wants an apology for being called a thief by the same date and Hades really doesn't care, as long as Zeus doesn't give him to much trouble. I hoped that diplomacy might prevail, that Hera or Demeter or Hestia would make the two brothers see sense."

Now it was Percy's turn to raise an eyebrow. "That didn't go to well, did it?"

"No," Chiron said heavily. "your arrival has only inflamed Zeus's temper. Now neither of the gods will back down. Unless someone intervenes, unless the master bolt is found and returned to Zeus before the solstice, there will be war. And do you know what a full-fledged war would look like, Percy?"

"Bad?" Percy guessed.

"Imagine the world in chaos. Nature at war with itself. Olympians forced to choose sides between Zeus and Poseidon. Destruction. Carnage. Millions dead. Western civilization turned into a battleground so big it will make the Trojan War look like a water-balloon fight."

"Bad," Percy repeated.

Roxanna whistled lowly. "And here I thought it was only kindergarteners that could through temper tantrums like that."

"And you two," Chiron said very seriously. "Percy Jackson, Roxanna Fleur, would be the first two to feel Zeus's wrath."

It started to rain. The volleyball players stopped their game and stared in stunned silence at the sky.

Percy was furious.

Grover was fidgeting.

Chiron was looking very grim.

"What the Hades!" Roxanna hissed. "I thought Zeus was the god of _justice_."

"So Sunshine and I have to find the stupid bolt," Percy said dully, frowning. "And return it to Zeus."

"What better peace offering," Chiron said, "than to have the son of Poseidon and the daughter of Hades return Zeus's property?"

"If Poseidon doesn't have it," Percy asked. "where is the thing?"

"I believe I know." Chiron's expression was grim. "Part of a prophecy I had years ago... well, some of the lines make sense to me, now. But before I can say more, you must officially take up the quest. You must seek the counsel of the Oracle."

"Why can't you tell me where the bolt is beforehand?" Percy asked.

Roxanna looked at Chiron, her eyes narrowed and still silver in her anger. Where could it be? She growled as she figured it out, but Roxanna wasn't about to say anything. Besides, it wouldn't waver Percy in his decision in the slightest.

"Because if I did," Chiron said. "you would be too afraid to accept the challenge."

Percy swallowed. "Good reason."

"You agree then?"

Percy looked at Grover, who nodded encouragingly.

_Easy for him_, Percy thought drily. _I'm the one Zeus wants to kill._

Percy then looked at Roxanna, who still had silver eyes. "I told you I'd go with you, Perce, I'm not about to go back on my word. That includes helping you find an electric teddy bear of mass destruction."

The only male demigod smiled. "I accept," but then he added as an afterthought. "It's better than being turned into a dolphin anyway."

Roxanna chuckled, as her eyes turned back to normal.

"Then it's time you consulted the Oracle," Chiron said. "Go upstairs, Percy Jackson, to the attic. When you come back down, assuming you're still sane, we will talk more."

Roxanna snorted. "Assuming you're still sane."

Roxanna watched as Percy walked into the Big House, looked determined. As soon as she was sure he couldn't hear them anymore, Roxanna rounded on Chiron, looking grim.

"Chiron, you know it wasn't us, right?" she asked.

Chiron smiled lightly. "Of course I do, Roxanna." He chuckled. "I've been your teacher for roughly a year, I know you two. Roxanna, you're very stubborn, I know that, but the problem here is that we have an equally stubborn god on our hands."

Roxanna didn't really know which god Chiron was talking about, since Poseidon, Hades and Zeus were all known for being very stubborn.

So she sighed. "Chiron… sir…" Roxanna seemed to struggle for a bit, pushing a nonexistent strand of hair behind her left ear. Then she blunted in frustration, "Argh! Forget it all! Chiron, keep an eye on the demigods, as you said, gods can't take from each other, and so they use heroes." Roxanna's frown darkened. "Well, here's a camp full of them…"

They didn't say a word after that.

Percy was standing in front of something he never thought he's ever see (unwrapped that is).

A mummy.

A no wrapped-in-cloth mummy, which looked like a human female body that was shriveled to a husk. She wore a tie-dyed sundress, lots of beaded necklaces, and a headband over long black hair. The skin of her face was thin and leathery over her skull, and her eyes were glassy white slits, as if marbles had replaced the real eyes.

Percy got the feeling that she'd been dead a long, long time.

The mummy was sitting by the window, on a wooden tripod stool. It was a gruesome memento indeed.

The warm air from the attic smelled like mildew and rotten wood and reptiles – a smell Percy remembered from biology class.

The attic was filled with Greek hero junk: armor stands covered in cobwebs; once-bright shields pitted with rust; old leather steamer trunks plastered with stickers saying ITHAKA, CIRCE'S ISLE, and LAND OF THE AMAZONS. One long table was stacked with glass jars filled with pickled _things_ – severed hairy claws, huge yellow eyes, various other parts of monsters. A dusty mounted trophy on the wall looked like a giant snake's head, but with horns and a full set of shark's teeth. The plaque read, HYDRA HEAD #1, WOODSTOCK, N.Y., 1969.

Chills went up Percy's back just by looking at the mummy. And that was before she sat up on her stool and opened her mouth. A green mist poured from the mummy's mouth, coiling over the floor in thick tendrils, hissing like twenty thousand snakes.

The trap door, behind Percy, slammed shut.

There was no escape.

Percy was beginning to really regret going up to the attic now.

Inside Percy's head, he heard a voice, slithering into one ear and coiling around his brain: _I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask._

Percy really wanted to say, _'__No thanks, wrong door, just looking for the bathroom'. _But he forced himself to take a deep breath – through the mouth.

The mummy wasn't alive, Percy knew that. She was just some kind of gruesome receptacle for something else, the power that was now swirling around him in the green mist. But its presence didn't feel evil – oddly enough -, like Percy's demonic math teacher Mrs. Dodds or the Minotaur. It felt more like the Three Fates he'd seen knitting the yarn outside the highway fruit stand: ancient, powerful, and definitely _not _human. But not particularly interested in killing him, either.

Percy was going to give it a chance, so he got up the courage and he nearly asked, _'What now?'_ but held it in. instead, he said, being a little dramatic, "What is my destiny?"

The mist swirled more thickly, like tentacles, collecting right in front of Percy and around the table with the pickled monster-part jars. Suddenly there were four men sitting around the table, playing cards. Their faces became clearer. It was Smelly Gabe and his buddies.

Percy's fists clenched out of anger, thought he knew the poker party couldn't be real. It was an illusion, made out of mist.

Then, two more figures appeared – two girls -, standing to the side of the poker party. What surprised Percy the most, was that it was Roxanna and Annabeth.

Gabe suddenly turned toward Percy and spoke in the rasping voice of the Oracle: _You shall go west, and face the gods who have turned._

His buddy on the right looked up and said in the same voice: _You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned._

The guy on the left threw in two poker chips, then said: _You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend._

Annabeth stepped forward, toward Percy, but was hold back by a hand from Roxanna, and then said: _Maybe there is more than one who can't comprehend._

Eddie, Percy's building superior, delivered a line that made Percy frown: _The Daughter of Hades shall have her answer._

Finally, Roxanna stepped forward, past Annabeth, and stood in front of Percy: _And learn the truth about a certain camper__**.**_

The figures began to dissolve. Percy was too stunned to say anything. The mist retreated, coiling into a huge green serpent and slithering back into the mouth of the mummy, and then Percy cried, "Wait! What do you mean? What friend? What answer? _What_ _truth_?"

The tail of the mist snake disappeared into the mummy's mouth. She reclined back against the wall. Her mouth closed tight, as if it hadn't been open in a hundred years. The attic was silent again, abandoned, nothing but a room full of mementos.

Percy got the feeling that he could stand here until he had cobwebs, too, and he wouldn't be any wiser or learn anything else.

Percy's short audience with the Oracle was over.

Despite it all, Percy couldn't help but let a little sarcastic comment slip, "Well wasn't that helpful?"

"Well?" Chiron asked Percy when he came back down.

He saw that Roxanna had taken a seat by the table, but as far away from Annabeth as she could get.

Percy slumped into a chair at the pinochle table, his expression troubled. "She said I would retrieve what was stolen."

Grover sat forward, chewing excitedly on the remains of a Diet Coke can. "That's great!"

"What did the Oracle say _exactly?" _Chiron pressed. "This is important."

Roxanna saw Percy reach a hand up to his ear, rubbing it slightly, as if hearing an invisible whisper.

"She... she said I would go west and face gods who had turned. I would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned." He answered.

"I knew it," Grover said.

Chiron didn't look satisfied. "Anything else?"

"Yeah." Percy looked over at Roxanna. "The daughter of Hades would have her answer, and learn some kind of secret about a camper."

Percy watched as he saw… _something_ flash through Roxanna's eyes, gaining a thoughtful expression but also worried. Roxanna bit her lower lip.

Roxanna cleared her throat. "Anything else, Perce?"

She saw Percy tense ever so slightly, hesitate, then said, "No, that's it, Sunshine."

Roxanna studied Percy's face. He was hiding something, she was sure of it.

"Very well, Percy." Roxanna heard Chiron say. "But know this: the Oracle's words often have double meanings. Don't dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass."

"Okay," Percy said, appearing anxious to change the topic. "So where do I go? Who's these gods in the west?"

"Ah, think, Percy," Chiron said. "If Zeus and Poseidon weaken each other in a war, who stands to gain?"

"Somebody else who wants to take over?" Percy pretty much guessed.

"Yes, quite. Someone who harbors a grudge, who has been unhappy with his lot since the world was divided eons ago, whose kingdom would grow powerful with the deaths of millions. Someone who hates his brothers for forcing him into an oath to have no more children, an oath that both of them have now broken." But then Chiron added as an afterthought, "Including himself."

Percy didn't think much about it, one look at his dreams and he easily came to a conclusion, "Hades."

Roxanna grumbled and huffed, crossing her arms, "It's not my dad."

But Chiron nodded. "The Lord of the Dead, and since it said _gods_ the other one must then be his wife – Persephone. They are the only possibility.

_The only possibility you're willing to admit_, Roxanna thought bitterly.

A scrap of aluminum dribbled out of Grover's mouth. "Whoa, wait. Wh-what?"

"A Fury came after Percy and Roxanna," Chiron reminded him. "She watched the two young heroes until she was sure of their identity, then tried to kill them. Furies obey only one lord: Hades."

Roxanna frowned. Mrs. Dodds didn't seem to want to kill her, rather, Roxanna thought that Mrs. Dodds was evading her.

Roxanna sighed. She was really tired of all this.

"Yes, but-but Hades hates _all _heroes," Grover protested. "Especially if he has found out Percy is a son of Poseidon... Besides, Roxanna is his own daughter!"

"A hellhound got into the forest," Chiron continued. "Those can only be summoned from the Fields of Punishment, and it had to be summoned by someone within the camp. Hades must have a spy here. He must suspect Poseidon will try to use Percy to clear his name. Hades would very much like to kill this young half-blood before he can take on the quest."

"Great," Percy muttered. "Two major gods who wants to kill me."

"Oi!" Roxanna growled. "I know my dad isn't exactly seen as the most 'lovable teddy bear', but give the guy a chance! Maybe – I know, a _ridiculous_ thought – but just _maybe_, someone is trying to frame him! You all know he won't get _any _sort of help from his family! And they certainly won't believe him either, even _if_ he decided to tell the truth!" Roxanna was puffing and panting from her rant, red-faced and silver-eyed.

She was rather put out by their (offensive) conclusion, if not irked to the very bone. Partly because she didn't want her dad to be the 'villain' in this _delightful_ (note the sarcasm please) adventure, and partly because she still remembered that Charon had said her dad was proud of her.

Chiron stared at Roxanna for a moment, he wasn't used to anyone standing up for Hades, and smiled. "You could be right, but he is still a possibility."

Roxanna didn't agree and she certainly didn't like it, but she kept her mouth shut and bit her tongue.

"But a quest to…" Grover swallowed. "I mean, couldn't the master bolt be in some place like Maine? Maine's very nice this time of year."

"Hades sent a minion to steal the master bolt," Chiron insisted. "He hid it in the Underworld, knowing full well that Zeus would blame Poseidon. I don't pretend to under stand the Lord of the Dead's motives perfectly, or why he chose this time to start a war, but one thing is certain. Percy must go to the Underworld, find the master bolt, and reveal the truth."

Grover was trembling. He'd started eating pinochle cards like potato chips.

The poor guy needed to complete a quest with Percy or Roxanna so he could get his searcher's license, whatever that was or did.

But this was definitely suicidal mission, how could anyone want to go?

"Look, if we know it's Hades," Percy told Chiron, "why can't we just tell the other gods? Zeus or Poseidon could go down to the Underworld and bust some heads."

"Because, Seaweed Brain, we don't know for sure," Roxanna then shrugged, apparently happy about what was coming next. "Beside, they can't cross each other's territories, except if they're invited." She smirked, mirth evident in her eyes. "And I honestly don't think my dad will be asking them to come down for a cup of tea and a cookie anytime soon."

Chiron nodded, obviously trying to hid a smile by the way his lips were twitching. "That is another ancient rule. Heroes, on the other hand, have certain privileges. They can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as they're bold enough and strong enough to do it. No god can be held responsible for a hero's actions. Why do you think the gods always operate through humans?"

"You're saying we're being used." Percy said emotionless.

Roxanna shrugged. "Well, you could say that, thought in reality, their parenting skills haven't really gotten any better over the years."

Chiron sighed, ignoring Roxanna's comment. "I'm saying it's no accident your fathers have claimed you now. It's a very risky gamble, but they're both in a tight spot. They need you."

"So we've got to save our parents' asses?" Roxanna raised an eyebrow.

Grover chuckled. "You could say that."

Percy looked at Chiron. "You've known I was Poseidon's son all along, haven't you?" he said. "And Roxanna? You knew she was a daughter of Hades, too?" Percy accused.

"I had my suspicions. As I said… I've spoken to the Oracle, too." Chiron said calmly.

"So let me get this straight," Percy said. "I'm supposed go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead."

"Check," Chiron said.

"Find the electric teddy bear of mass destruction." Roxanna chimed in helpfully, a grin on her face and a certain gleam in her eyes that she only got when she looked at the climbing-wall.

"Check." Chiron said, yet again.

"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, in ten days." Percy continued.

"That's about right."

"Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" Grover asked weakly, as he gulped down the ace of hearts.

"You don't have to go," Percy told him. "I can't ask that of you."

Grover took a deep breath, then stood, brushing the shredded cards and aluminum bits off his T-shirt. "You two saved my life, Percy, Rox. If ... if you're serious about wanting me along, I won't let you down."

Roxanna smiled, along with Percy, she was proud of the satyr. She knew that they never really liked underground that much.

"All the way, G-man." Percy turned to Chiron. "So where do we go? The Oracle just said to go west."

"The entrance to the Underworld is always in the west. It moves from age to age, just like Olympus. Right now, of course, it's in America."

"Where?"

Chiron looked surprised, but it was Roxanna who answered with a grin, "LA, Perce. LA."

"Oh," Percy said. "Naturally. So we just get on a plane-"

"No!" Grover shrieked. "Percy, what are you thinking? Have you ever been on a plane in your life?"

Percy shook his head, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"Percy, think," Chiron said. "You are the son of the Sea God. Your father's bitterest rival is Zeus, Lord of the Sky. Your mother knew better than to trust you in an airplane. You would be in Zeus's domain. You would never come down again alive."

Overhead, lightning crackled. Thunder boomed.

Apparently Zeus agreed with Chiron's statement.

"What about me?" Roxanna asked.

"I'm not sure," Chiron shook his head. "but I don't think it would be a good idea nonetheless."

"Okay," Percy said, determined not to look at the storm. "So, we'll travel overland."

"That's right," Chiron said. "Two companions may accompany you. Roxanna doesn't count since she is in the prophecy. Grover is one. The other has already volunteered, if you will accept her help."

"Gee," I said, feigning surprise, while Roxanna's lip curled up as she looked at the blonde girl. "Who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?"

Annabeth sniffed angrily from where she sat, finally speaking again. "I've been waiting a long time for a quest." She said. "Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up."

"No," Roxanna growled. "you're not."

Annabeth's cheeks colored in anger. "Do you want my help or not?"

"No thanks, I'd rather not look at your face for ten days straight," Roxanna said calmly. "I can barely look at it now without the urge to punch it, bird brain."

Annabeth seethed and puffed her chest up in anger, if not a bit mockingly. "Then who will you find to replace me, zombie girl? As if there are any."

"Dee Dee." Roxanna said without missing a beat.

"Who?" Percy asked.

"Daimon."

"Oh…" Percy said, but then he seemed to realize something. "Wait what! Daimon hates me!"

Roxanna waved it away with a hand. "_Pffff_, no he doesn't." but even Roxanna could make that sound convincing. "Either way, I refuse to have Annabeth on the quest." She said defiantly.

Annabeth sputtered. "Wha-! Who-! Argh! This is supposed to be _my_ big breakthrough! You _need_ me!"

Roxanna leveled Annabeth with a glare, but before she could say anything, Chiron said, "Annabeth, it is not your decision to make."

"But-! They can't-!"

Surprisingly, it was Grover who set Annabeth straight. "Shut up, and stop being such a brat for once!" Grover yelled, his face red. "Yes, they can, Annabeth. It's their quest, _not_ yours. You don't have _any_ say in this."

Annabeth yelled in frustration and stormed off.

Silence hung in the air.

Only to be broken by the daughter of Hades.

"Nice, Groves." Roxanna grinned, proud of her friend. "So… what now?"

Chiron sighed. "This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own."

Lightning flashed. Rain poured down on the meadows that were never supposed to have violent weather.

"No time to waste," Chiron said. "I think you should all get packing and I will inform Daimon of the quest."

* * *

**Tada! Daimon is joining the gang on the quest! Roxanna stands up for her dad! And Grover sets Annabeth in her place! What could possibly happen next?**

**Anyway, hopefully it's not that obvious, but I had a really hard time writing this chapter ^_^" I was so utterly lost in the start!**

**IMPORTANT! IMPORTANT! IMPORTANT!**

**VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV**

**VVVVVVVVVVVVV**

**VVVVVVVVVV**

**VVVVVVV**

**VVVVV**

**VVV**

**V**

**My school, like every other school in Denmark, might have a lock down. Which basically means my school closes, for some time, and I can't go to school. Now, I'm not sure if this might happen, but if so, then there might go sometime before I can update, even now. **_**Because**_** my teachers are giving us tons of homework, so we won't be too left behind in school.**

**This would have normally made me happy, 'cause who doesn't want vacation from school 4 months, or so, earlier? But since I'm on my last year in school I got exams, which I, at least, want decent grades in.**

**So all in all, I'm gonna study, and when and **_**if**_** I have time, I'll continue to write my story. But don't worry it'll highest take me a month to update… **_**maybe**_**. Sound fair enough?**

**Anyway, hope you liked it!**

**REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!** **REVIEW! REVIEW!** **REVIEW!**


	11. KILL THE RED PUPPIES!

**A/N**

**I'M NOT DEEEEAAAAAD! WHOOHOO!**

**Alright, so umm… sorry? Yeah, I can't really say it enough, mostly because I just got Assassin's Creed 2 (plus 3) and had to play it as soon as I could ^_^" Sorry again for that. Also, vacation got to me... Sorry!**

**Lvl-ZeR0**: Sorry it took so long! Can you forgive me? *give you puppy dog eyes* Please? Anyway, thanks a ton! ^^

Roxanna: Nope, no tatic whatsoever, unless you count improvising? My thought about the quest? Umm... I hope I come back in one piece?

**Alice Williams (guest)**: Thank you so much ;D Can't make any promises, though! Here is a chappie for you! ^^

**Nocturnal Rose**: Thank you! Hope you'll like this chapter then! ;P

* * *

**Chapter 11**

"_**KILL THE RED PUPPIES!"**_

* * *

Roxanna packed quickly, nothing of much value to her in the room, other than the Minotaur's horn. But she couldn't take that with her, she didn't want to lose it. Roxanna got that stupid horn the hard way, and she'd be damned if she lost it now.

The camp store loaned Percy, Roxanna and Daimon one hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty golden drachmas. The coins were as big as Girl Scout cookies and had images of various Greek gods stamped on one side and the Empire State Building on the other.

The ancient mortal drachmas had been silver, Chiron told the demigods, but Olympians never used less than pure gold (go figure). Chiron had told them that the coins might come in handy for non-mortal transactions, which Roxanna frowned a little at.

Maybe he meant chariots? Or a flying taxi, or _something_?

Chiron gave Percy, Daimon and Roxanna each a canteen of nectar and a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia squares, to be used only in emergencies, if they were seriously hurt.

Chiron reminded them urgently that it was god food. It would cure them of almost any injury, but it was lethal to mortals. Too much of it would make a half-blood very, very feverish. An overdose would literally burn them up.

Roxanna had raised an eyebrow and asked if that had ever happened, which she got a grimace for.

Grover wore his fake feet and his pants to pass as human. He wore a green rasta-style cap, because when it rained his curly hair flattened and you could just see the tips of his horns. His bright orange backpack was full of scrap metal and apples to snack on. In his pocket was a set of reed pipes his daddy goat had carved for him, even though he only knew two songs: Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 12 and Hilary Duff's "So Yesterday," both of which honestly didn't sounded all that good on reed pipes.

Daimon was wearing his usual set of clothes – black, black, black and more black. A bag was slung over his shoulder and he had a hand clenched around his necklace – the inverted torch -, as if wishing for good luck.

Percy, also, had a bag slung over his shoulder and dressed for traveling. He was wearing a pair of light shorts and a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. Roxanna thought that he looked a little fidgety, if not a bit anxious.

Roxanna looked over the campers, as Percy and Grover waved goodbye, and released a sigh. Daimon was waiting besides Chiron.

"Hey, Roxy!" yelled a voice.

"You're not gonna lave without saying goodbye, are you?" yelled another.

Roxanna turned around to see Connor and Travis running towards her, and she let a smile spread across her face. Both were panting as they stopped in front of Roxanna, grinning from ear to ear.

Connor straightened up. "Hey."

"Thought we'd wish you good luck." Travis said.

Roxanna grinned, warmth spreading in the pit of her stomach. "Thanks."

"No problemo, _Roxy_." The brothers grinned, slung an arm around Roxanna's shoulders, and smirked down at her.

"Yeah, yeah," Roxanna grumbled, a small blush colored her cheeks, as she pried their arms off her. "don't go all clingy on me now."

"You wound us with your words." The brothers both held a hand over their hearts, while showing of a pout that could rival that of a puppy's.

"Roxanna!"

Said girl turned around to the call, and found Clarisse and Silena walking towards the troublemaking trio, one wearing a smirk and the other a pretty smile. Clarisse clapped a hand onto Roxanna's shoulder, making her knees briefly wobble from the strength. Silena smiled prettily.

"Be careful, Roxanna." Silena said kindly, as her eyes filled with concern.

Clarisse scoffed, as if the idea of Roxanna being careful was laughable. "You better kick some ass for me, Rox."

"I will, don't worry." Roxanna said, referring to both girls.

The warmth in the pit of her stomach was back, but this time, so much stronger.

The daughter of Hades heard Percy call, saying they had to go, and quickly said goodbye to her newfound group of friends. Heading back to Percy, Grover and Daimon, Roxanna took one last look back. The strawberry fields were bright with red, fresh strawberries; the ocean glittered in the sun, waves rolling in on the beach; the Big House, with the brass eagle shinning in the light.

Roxanna smiled and hiked up Half-Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that used to be Thalia, the only ever daughter of Zeus.

Chiron was waiting in his wheelchair. Next to him stood whom Roxanna thought to be Argus, if the dozen of eyes were anything to go by. Argus honestly looked like a typical blond surfer dude, with the little exception that he had about a hundred blue eyes all over his body –supposedly one on his tongue too, which many thought was the main reason why he doesn't talk that much.

Roxanna found out (according to Grover) that the guy was the camp's head of security. The eyes all over his body hindered him from ever being surprised. Argus was wearing a chauffeur's uniform, so Roxanna could only see some eyes on his hands, face and neck.

"This is Argus," Chiron told the quest members. "He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."

Roxanna faltered a little. "That's a horrible pun, Chiron."

Luke came running up the hill, carrying a pair of basketball shoes.

"Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you."

Roxnna blinked, just like Percy, confused but happy that their friend came to say goodbye.

"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke told them, but then turned to Percy. "And I thought ... um, maybe you could use these."

Luke handed Percy a pair of sneakers… which looked pretty normal. That is, until Luke said the magic word: "_Maia!_"

White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels and startled Percy so much that he dropped them. The shoes flapped around on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared.

"Awesome!" Grover said, while Roxanna simply grinned.

Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days..." His expression turned sad.

The daughter of Hades had a feeling Luke was remembering his last quest, one that didn't go all that well.

Roxanna saw Percy blushing, like Annabeth would do whenever she was near Luke, gaping like a fish. "Hey, man," he said. "Thanks."

"Listen, Percy..." Luke looked uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. And I'm sure Roxanna is counting on you, too." (said girl blushed) "So just... kill some monsters for me, okay?"

Roxanna snorted, a small blush still evident on her cheeks. "With Percy's luck we're bond to meet some." She crossed her arms and shrugged. "Might be easier to just put a sign on our backs saying, '_FOOD!_'"

"Oi!"

"What?" the girl looked bewildered and incredulous. "It's true."

Luke and Percy shook hands. Daimon gave a wave and Luke patted Grover's head between his horns, then gave a good-bye hug to Roxanna, who returned it with a grin.

After Luke was gone, Percy picked up the flying shoes with a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He looked at Chiron. "I won't be able to use these, will I?"

"Not unless you want to got smitten by uncle dearest."

Chiron shook his head. "Luke meant well, Percy. But taking to the air… that would not be wise for you."

Roxanna saw Percy nod, thought disappointment clear on his face, but then his face suddenly lit up. "Hey, Grover. You want a magic item?"

Grover's eyes lit up. "Me?"

Percy nodded and helped Grover lace the sneakers over his fake feet. Roxanna snickered. The world's first flying satyr was ready for launch.

_"Maia!" _Grover shouted.

He got off the ground _okay_… but then it all went to Hades. Grover didn't exactly get the desired effect. Instead, he fell over sideways so his backpack dragged through the grass. The winged shoes kept bucking up and down.

Grover had become a possessed lawn mower.

"Practice," Chiron called after him. "You just need practice!"

"And a Hades lot of it!" Roxanna called after Grover.

"Aaarrrgggghhh!" Grover went flying sideways down the hill, heading toward the van.

Daimon went after Grover,down the other side of the hill, where the white SUV waited on the shoulder of the road. Argus followed, jingling his car keys.

Before Percy could follow, Chiron caught his arm. "I should have trained you better, Percy," he said, as if disappointed with himself. "you too, Roxanna. If only I had more time. Hercules, Jason – they all got more training."

"We'll manage." Roxanna said, while Percy smiled lightly and said, "That's okay. I just wish-"

Percy stopped abruptly, sure he was about to sound like a spoiled brat.

Suddenly, Chiron cried out. "What am I thinking? I can't let you get away without this."

He pulled a pen from his coat pocket and handed it to Percy. It looked like a normal ballpoint, to Roxanna, probably black ink, removable cap, cost thirty cents tops. But she knew that looks could be deceiving, after all, her own ring turned out to be a lethal sword.

"Gee," Percy said, looking rather put out. "Thanks."

"Percy," Chiron said, slightly amused. "that's a gift from your father. I've kept it for years, not knowing you were whom I was waiting for. But the prophecy is clear to me now. You are the one."

Percy took a good look at the pen, remembering the field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where Roxanna and he had vaporized Mrs. Dodds. Chiron had thrown him a pen that turned into a sword. Could this be the same?

Percy took off the cap, and the pen grew longer and heavier in his hand. In about half a second, the son of Poseidon held a shimmering bronze sword with a double-edged blade, a leather-wrapped grip, and a flat hilt riveted with gold studs.

"Nice sword, Perce." Roxanna said. "How does it feel?"

Percy smiled. "Perfect."

"The sword has a long and tragic history that we need not go into." Chiron told him. "Its name is Anaklusmos."

"'Riptide,'" Percy translated, surprised the Ancient Greek came so easily.

"Use it only for emergencies," Chiron said, "and only against monsters. No hero should harm mortals unless absolutely necessary, of course, but this sword wouldn't harm them in any case."

Percy looked at the wickedly sharp blade, he couldn't see how it _could_ _not_ hurt mortals. "What do you mean it wouldn't harm mortals?"

"The sword is celestial bronze. Forged by the Cyclopes, tempered in the heart of Mount Etna, cooled in the River Lethe. It's deadly to monsters, to any creature from the Underworld, provided they don't kill you first. But the blade will pass through mortals like an illusion. They are simply not important enough for the blade to kill. And I should warn you two: as demigods, either celestial or normal weapons can kill you. You are _twice _as vulnerable."

"Good to know."

Roxanna frowned. "Then what about my sword? It doesn't look like celestial bronze one bit."

Chiron's expression mirrored Roxanna's, and he gestured for the ring on her hand. "If I may?"

"'Course." Roxanna turned her skull ring and forth sprang the beautiful, but also deadly, black sword – Dusk Cutter. She held it forth for Chiron to see, but he never made a move to hold it himself.

Chiron's eyes roamed over the blade, a thoughtful expression on his face. "It seems that you have come across a sword made of stygian iron." He continued at the confused looks he got from the two demigods. "Rarer than celestial bronze. It's forged in the Underworld and cooled in the River Styx. Chiron nodded and continued. Where weapons made from celestial bronze cause monsters to disintegrate, stygian iron absorbs their essence, causing them to cease to exist and thus won't ever be able to reform ever again."

"Then why don't all demigods have a weapon made of stygian iron?" Percy asked, confused.

"It is not known completely, but it's possible that only people or beings of the Underworld can wield this metal." Chiron said.

"Like my dad, his children and other beings that lives in the Underworld?" Roxanna said, looking at the sword in a whole new light. Turning the sword back to the skull ring she became so fund of, she put it back on her finger.

"That is correct." Chiron looked at Percy, who still had Riptide in his hand, and said, "Now recap the pen."

Percy blinked, a little confused, but then touched the pen cap to the sword tip and instantly Riptide shrank to a ballpoint pen again. Percy tucked it in his pocket.

"You can't," Chiron said, as if reading his mind.

Percy frowned. "Can't what?"

"Lose the pen," Chiron said. "It is enchanted. It will always reappear in your pocket. Try it."

Percy looked wary, but he threw the pen as far as he could down the hill and watched it disappear in the grass.

"It may take a few moments," Chiron told him. "Now check your pocket."

And sure enough, the pen was there.

Roxanna whistled. "That's cool."

"That's _extremely _cool," Percy admitted. "But what if a mortal sees me pulling out a sword?"

Chiron smiled. "Mist is a powerful thing, Percy."

"Mist?"

"Yes. Read _The Iliad. _It's full of references to the stuff. Whenever divine or monstrous elements mix with the mortal world, they generate Mist, which obscures the vision of humans. You will see things just as they are, being a half-blood, but humans will interpret things quite differently. Remarkable, really, the lengths to which humans will go to fit things into their version of reality."

Percy put Riptide back in his pocket, and for the first time, the quest felt real.

He was actually leaving Half-Blood Hill.

He was heading west with no adult supervision, no backup plan, not even a cell phone (Chiron had said monsters could trace cell phones, and if they ever used one, it would be worse than sending up a flare). Percy had no weapon stronger than a sword to fight off monsters and reach the Land of the Dead.

"Chiron..."Percy suddenly said. "When you say the gods are immortal... I mean, there was a time _before _them, right?"

"Four ages before them, actually." Chiron said. "The Time of the Titans was the Fourth Age, sometimes called the Golden Age, which is definitely a misnomer. This, the time of Western civilization and the rule of Zeus, is the Fifth Age."

Roxanna could see where this was going, so she said, "Then what was it like before the gods?"

Chiron pursed his lips. "Even I am not old enough to remember that, children, but I know it was a time of darkness and savagery for mortals. Kronos, the lord of the Titans, called his reign the Golden Age because men lived innocent and free of all knowledge. But that was mere propaganda. The Titan king cared nothing for your kind except as appetizers or a source of cheap entertainment."

"Harsh." Percy muttered.

"It was only in the early reign of Lord Zeus," Chiron continued. "when Prometheus the good Titan brought fire to mankind, that your species began to progress, and even then Prometheus was branded a radical thinker. Zeus punished him severely, as you may recall. Of course, eventually the gods warmed to humans, and Western civilization was born."

Roxanna snorted. "Yeah, they 'warmed up' to us alright."

"But the gods can't die now, right?" Percy asked. "I mean, as long as Western civilization is alive, they're alive. So... even if we failed, nothing could happen so bad it would mess up _every thing, _right?"

Chiron gave Percy a melancholy smile. "No one knows how long the Age of the West will last, Percy. The gods are immortal, yes. But then, so were the Titans. _They _still exist, locked away in their various prisons, forced to endure endless pain and punishment, reduced in power, but still very much alive. May the Fates forbid that the gods should ever suffer such a doom, or that we should ever return to the darkness and chaos of the past. All we can do, children, is follow our destiny."

"Our destiny..." Percy said.

Roxanna scoffed. "Yeah, _assuming_ we know what that is. Besides, nothing is set in stone."

"Relax," Chiron told them. "Keep a clear head. And remember, you two may be about to prevent the biggest war in human history."

"Relax," Percy said, voice strained. "I'm very relaxed."

Roxanna sighed. "Chiron, you really need to work on your pep talks."

Percy walked to the bottom of the hill, but as Roxanna was about to follow a hand on her shoulder stopped her. The demigod looked back at the centaur questioningly, humming in a way that told Chiron to say whatever he want to say now that he had the chance.

"Roxanna," he said, a sliver of deadly graveness slipping into his tone. "about what Percy said – what the oracle said –, just remember that in the end all that matters is what you think matters…"

Roxanna stayed silent, not all that keen on telling _anyone_ about her question – or who it was too for that sake -, but nodded nonetheless.

When she got to the bottom of the hill, Roxanna looked back. Under the big Christmas-y pine tree, Chiron was now standing in full centaur form, holding his bow high in salute.

A typical summer-camp send-off by a typical centaur.

Argus drove them out of the countryside and into western Long Island. Roxanna felt weird to be on a highway again, looking out of the window for… well, _anything_ really. Percy, Grover and Daimon were sitting in the back seat, Grover in between the two demigods, and Roxanna in the front.

After about two weeks at Half-Blood Hill, the real world seemed like a fantasy to Roxanna – to them all really. Roxanna saw Percy and Daimon staring at every McDonald's, every kid in the back of his parents' car, every billboard and shopping mall, as if it was all very alien.

"So far so good," Percy told them. "Ten miles and not a single monster."

Daimon gave him an annoyed look and said, voice gruff and stoic, "It's bad luck to talk like that."

"Why do you hate me so much?"

Poor, poor Grover was sitting between the two, oh how horrible an idea it was now that he thought about it. _Why_ did he do it again?

Roxanna suddenly had the feeling that someone was glaring at her and chuckled quietly.

"You're reckless, stupid, disrespectful, have no regard for what your actions may bring, and we're all in this mess because of you, need I go on?" Daimon gave Percy a heated glare, which he gladly returned.

Again. Poor, gullible Grover.

Roxanna rolled her eyes. Hoping that they would over come their differences on this quest was just that: hopeful thinking. Right?

"Be nice, Dee Dee," she said. "you too, Perce. Like it or not, we're in this _together_, so be good little boys and play _nice_."

Behind the wheel, Roxanna saw Argus smiled. He didn't say anything, but one blue eye on the side of his neck winked at her.

Traffic slowed them down in Queens. By the time they got into Manhattan it was sunset and starting to rain.

Argus dropped the quartet off at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side. Roxanna realized that it wasn't that far from Percy's mother and Gabe's apartment.

Roxanna saw Percy rip a picture of him down, with the words: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY?, before anyone could notice. She didn't say anything, and turned around.

Argus unloaded their bags, made sure they got their bus tickets, then drove away, the eye on the back of his hand opening to watch them as he pulled out of the parking lot.

Roxanna saw Grover shoulder his backpack, gazing down the street in the same direction Percy was looking. "You want to know why she married him, Percy?" he said.

Percy stared at him, shocked. "Were you reading my mind or something?"

"Just your emotions." Grover shrugged like it was nothing. "Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that. You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?"

Percy nodded dully, while Roxanna wondered what else Grover might've forgotten to tell them.

"Your mom married Gabe for _you," _Grover told Percy. "You call him 'Smelly,' but you've got no idea. The guy has this aura… Yuck. I can smell him from here. I can smell traces of him on you, and you haven't been near him for a week."

"Thanks," Percy said, deadpan. "Where's the nearest shower?"

"You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn't lived with him every summer, monsters probably would've found you a long time ago. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must've loved you a lot to put up with that guy – if that makes you feel any better."

Percy's face was eerily stoic.

Percy wondered if Grover could still read his emotions, mixed up as they were. Percy was glad Grover and Roxanna were with him, even Daimon (but don't tell anyone he said that) but he felt guilty that he hadn't been straight with two of them. Percy hadn't told them the real reason he'd said yes to this _delightful_ quest. Only Roxanna knew.

Percy didn't care about retrieving Zeus's lightning bolt, or saving the world, or even helping his father out of trouble like Roxanna was trying to.

The more Percy thought about it, the more he resented Poseidon for never visiting him, never helping his mom, never even sending a lousy child-support check. He'd only claimed Percy because he needed a job done.

All Percy cared about was his mom. Hades had taken her unfairly, and Hades was going to give her back.

Percy would make sure of that.

"Then what about me?" Roxanna asked. "I didn't have any lousy step-parents that smelled like they'd just rolled in the garbage."

"But you did have many children around you whenever you where home." Grover reasoned.

"So… it was actually a good thing I was never adopted?"

Grover nodded and left it at that, knowing it was a touchy subject.

The rain kept coming down, then finally the bus came.

As the quartet stood in line to board, Grover started looking around, sniffing the air like he smelled his favorite school cafeteria delicacy – enchiladas.

"What is it?" Daimon asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know," Grover said tensely. "Maybe it's nothing."

Roxanna frowned, and despite what Grover said, they all started to look over their shoulders.

The daughter of Hades smiled when they finally got on board and found seats together in the back of the bus. They stowed their backpacks. Diamon kept a hand tightly around his necklace.

As the last passengers got on, Roxanna clamped a hand onto each of Percy and Daimon's knees. She was sitting between the two.

"Guys."

An old lady had just boarded the bus. She wore a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves, and a shapeless orange-knit hat that shadowed her face, and she carried a big paisley purse. When she tilted her head up, her black eyes glittered, and Roxanna's breath hitched in her throat.

It was Mrs. Dodds. Older, more withered, but definitely the same evil face.

Percy seemed to have seen it too, as he scrunched down in his seat.

Behind Mrs. Dodds came two more old ladies: one in a green hat, one in a purple hat. They looked exactly like Mrs. Dodds – same gnarled hands, paisley handbags, wrinkled velvet dresses.

A trio of demon grandmothers. What fun.

The trio of grandmothers sat in the front row, right behind the driver. The two on the aisle crossed their legs over the walkway, making an X. It was casual enough, but it sent a clear message: nobody leaves.

The bus pulled out of the station, and the bus headed through the slick streets of Manhattan.

"She didn't stay dead long," Percy said, trying to keep his voice from quivering. "I thought someone said they could be dispelled for a lifetime."

"Yeah, they can, but only if you're _lucky_," Daimon said, rather calmly. "You're _obviously_ not."

"All three of them," Grover whimpered. _"Di immortales!"_

"It's okay." Daimon said. "Try the windows."

"They don't open," Grover moaned.

"A back exit?" Percy suggested.

Roxanna stood up, alerting the others.

"What are you doing?" Daimon hissed and tried to drag Roxanna down again, but she wouldn't budge.

"I'm going to have a talk with them." Roxanna said calmly.

"But they'll kill you!" Grover panicked.

Roxanna shook her head firmly. "No, they' won't." she turned to Percy. "Perce, you remember when Mrs. Dodds attacked us?"

Percy nodded.

"I think that Mrs. Dodds was trying to evade me."

"What?" Daimon's eyebrow scrunched together in confusion but also something else, something Roxanna couldn't put her finger on.

Roxanna just nodded and walked down the aisle, biting her lip now and then. She stopped in front of the demon grandmothers, feeling slightly nervous. She just hoped against all hope that she was right.

The trio of old people turned their head to her as one, looking at her, sizing her up.

_Okay_, Roxanna thought. _A bit creepy._

She cleared her throat, keeping her ring ready if needed, thought she had a feeling she wouldn't. "Mrs. Dodds-"

"Alecto." Alecto interrupted.

Roxanna nodded her head. "Alecto," she frowned. "why are you after Percy? You talked like he had _done_ something. And I'm rather sure that dad couldn't care less if Zeus got his bolt stolen."

Alecto looked at Roxanna, the other two staying silent, when something flashed through her eyes.

Alecto went to open her mouth, but was interrupted by the one in the purple hat. "Alecto, do you really think this a good idea?"

"Yes, Tisiphone."

"You know how Lord's children can be like." Said the other – the one with the green hat.

"Megaera." Alecto said warningly, and the two's protests went quiet. She turned her gaze back to her Lord's child. "Do you really want to know?"

Roxanna found herself nodding before she could even start to think if she _really_ wanted to know. So she said, voice breathy, "Yes."

The girl winced at how helpless she sounded.

Alecto's lips twitched upwards, but then turned down in a frown. "_Someone_," at that she sent a pointed look to Percy. "stole your father's helm."

"What?" Roxanna nearly laughed in hysteria. "You can't be serious, first deary uncle's teddy bear, and now my dad's drinking hat?"

"I told you she wouldn't take it well." Megaera said matter-of-factly, crossing her arms.

Tisiphone scolded at Magaera, and said in a rather motherly tone, "Oh would you come off it? The girl is obviously just scared."

"I'm _not_ scared." Roxanna protested hotly and crossed her arms defiantly.

"Of course you're not, dear." Tisiphone said in a kind tone, which quite frankly showed that she didn't believe Roxanna. "You're a brave little heroine."

Roxanna spluttered hotly, an angry blush making it's way onto her cheeks.

Something crashed into the bus, making it swing dangerously before the driver got it straightened out. Roxanna fell down, landing harshly with an _Umph!_

The three grandmothers looked around outside of the bus, all cursing when they found what they were apparently looking for. Roxanna looked back at her friends, they had all been shaken around in their seats, but none on the floor.

"It's okay, folks, just a little bump in the road!" called the bus driver.

Roxanna spluttered yet again, this time at the driver's stupidity. How could that have been a bump?

The bus was on Ninth Avenue now, heading for the Lincoln Tunnel.

"What the Hades was that!" Roxanna asked the grandmothers.

"War-hounds." Alecto said grimly, but that only made Roxanna more confused.

"And what are war-hounds?"

"A bit like hellhounds, thought they only listen to-"

Something slammed into the bus again and people screamed. The bus went into the Lincoln Tunnel and the bus went dark except for the running lights down the aisle. It was eerily quiet without the sound of the rain, thought Roxanna could hear paws pound the cement road.

"Get out of here!" Alecto yelled. "They're after you and the son of Poseidon!"

Tisiphone helped Roxanna get up, and pushed her down the aisle toward her friends, while saying, "Go! Hurry! You need to get out of here!"

Roxanna complied without questioning further, and ran down the aisle, meeting up with her rather freaked out friends.

"We need to get out of here."

"Yeah, no shit."

The bus was almost through the Lincoln Tunnel, when something slammed against the bus two times, one side each, quickly after each other. People screamed again, cowering in their seats and holding on as best as they could. The quartet nearly fell on the floor.

Then, all of a sudden, Roxanna heard Magaera scream, "Hold on tight!"

Magaera press the emergency stop button.

But at the exact same time, something slammed into the bus, making it roll out of the tunnel and back into the rainstorm. Everybody howled as they were thrown around, smashing against the windows and the floors.

The bus rolled off the highway and ended up barreling down one of those New Jersey rural roads where you couldn't believe there was so much nothing right across the river from New York. There were woods to the left, the Hudson River to the right, and the bus seemed to be rolling toward the river, when it finally stopped, crashing into some trees.

The emergency lights came on. The door flew open. The bus driver was the first one out, the passengers yelling as they stampeded after him.

Grover moaned. "I don't feel so well."

"Come on!" the furies yelled, hurrying the quartet along. "We have to be quick!"

Thunder shook the bus. The hair rose on the back of Roxanna's neck.

"Get out!" Alecto yelled at them. "Now!"

The quartet didn't need any encouragement.

They rushed outside, Roxanna holding onto Percy's arm, and found the other passengers wandering around in a daze, arguing with the driver, or running around in circles yelling, "We're going to die!" A Hawaiian-shirted tourist with a camera snapped a photograph of Percy and Roxanna before she could let go of Percy.

"Our bags!" Grover realized. "We left our-"

_BOOOOOM!_

The windows of the bus exploded as the passengers ran for cover. Lightning shredded a huge crater in the roof. A bloodcurdling roar sounded, and the last of the passengers ran away, as three bear sized hounds started circling the quartet and furies.

Roxanna didn't know what she thought the war-hounds looked like, but this was definitely not it. The hounds were terrifying. With razor sharp teeth that looked a little too big for them, eyes that glowed white hot in a black background, a backbone sprouting out of their backs like spicks, and a tail the looked like it was made of bones with a sort of thin leather and a spiked end: the war-hounds stood proud and tall.

Though, that wasn't what Roxanna thought was the worst. The worst, in Roxanna mind, was that it looked like they've been dipped in _blood_ – red, crimson _blood_. Their short fur was dripping from the rain, and Roxanna had no trouble imagining the drops of rain were blood instead.

Roxanna didn't know if it was on instinct that she brought her sword forth, or fear. But she didn't seem to be the only one, as Percy held Riptide tightly in his hand, Grover his reed pines and Daimon a black, sword with a long triangle like blade.

The old ladies were not old ladies anymore. Their bodies had shriveled into leathery brown bat-like bodies with bat's wings and hands and feet like gargoyle claws. Their handbags had turned into fiery whips.

The group stood in a circle, their backs to each other, as the war-hounds got closer and closer. One of the hounds pounced on Grover, but Percy and Daimon pulled Grover out of the way and slashed at its side.

And with that, the other two pounced as well.

The group got split up: the furies got one hound, Grover and Percy another, Daimon and Roxanna the last.

Roxanna and Daimon stood side by side, holding their weapons up. The hound pounced and the duo rolled out of the way, stabbing it was they came up. The hound roared again, and this time, Roxanna understood why it was so terrifying: it sounded like a human.

"Roxanna!"

It lunged at Roxanna, its wicked looking claws at the ready. Roxanna stubbornly held her ground, sword ready. Daimon ran as fast as he could, tackling Roxanna out of harms way, as the hound came down.

"What are you doing!" Roxanna yelled, outraged.

"You were going to be killed!"

The hound pounced again, the duo still on the ground, but at the last minute Roxanna and Daimon raised their weapons, impaling it in the chest and stomach. The war-hound fell to the ground, and Roxanna got a sever case of the chills when she saw the hound melt into the ground in what looked like blood.

Roxanna looked over at the others' fights, it seemed that they, too, just finished.

But there were no time for celebrations, as Tisiphone yelled, "Run! You have to get out of here!"

The quartet plunged into the woods alone, as the rain poured down, the bus in flames behind them. Roxanna was rather glad to see nothing but calming darkness ahead, and welcomed it with open arms.

* * *

**DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUNNN!**

**Can you guess who sent the red "puppies"? Thought it won't be easy, because this is the first "entré" for **_**their**_** ill will towards the demigods… and they actually don't even have red dogs… but oh well, there wasn't really that much about them so I just made stuff up. You'll meet them, of course, it'll just take a looooong time before you do… so sit tight and wait!**

**Peeps, my school has officially got lockout. Still don't know how to feel about that -.-"**

**Just a quick question****: would anyone be kind enough to help with a cover? Doesn't have to be anything big, but it has to have Roxanna on it, at least. Please? *gives you my best puppy dog eyes* PM me about it!**

**REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**


	12. Hormonal teenage monsters do what?

**POLL! POLL! POLL! POLL! POLL! POLL! POOL! POOL! POOL! JUST KIDDING! POLL! POLL! POLL! POLL! POLL! POLL! POLL! POLL!**

**I have finally put up the poll (to vote for who Roxanna should be with) so please, please, **_**please**_** vote on it :) I won't be taking it down until the end of the second book or at the start of the third, so there's a bunch of time to vote!**

**Disclaimer: Right, I do not own the PJO series, only Roxanna, Daimon and the war-hounds… so back off! They're mine! *gives you a crazed look* … But if you ask nicely then maybe I'll lend them to you.**

**MoRGzY**: Thank you ^^ Well, it's already different in this chapter, so I hope you like the change!

**Lvl-ZeR0**: *blinks* Ummm, okay… *grins and hugs you back* It always works…

Roxanna: Well I'm quite pissed at the gods (especially at dearest uncle), and I'd rather do this quest without the war-hounds *sighs* but that's a demigod's life for you. Anyway, we'll just have to wait and see if we make it, I'm sure _something_ will happen that we didn't expect.

**mimi12349876**: Thank you a ton ^^ I've already sent a PM about the cover! XD

* * *

_**Chapter 12**_

"_**Hormonal teenage monsters do what?"**_

* * *

"You know, in a way, it's nice to know there're Greek gods," Percy started.

Roxanna scoffed. "Yeah, because you have someone to blame when things get shity."

The two demigods high-fived, while the other two of the quartet rolled their eyes, one more nervous than the other. Grover nervously looked at the sky, as it flashed with lightning.

"They didn't mean that!" he squeaked.

"No, no, no, we actually do." Roxanna tried to look serious, but the smirk on her face ruined it. "Let me give you a _brilliant_ example. Perce, if you'd please?"

Percy grinned, but nodded, he too was trying to look serious. "When you're walking away from a bus that's just been attacked by monster dogs and blown to pieces by lightning, _and_ it's raining on top of everything else,"

"Now most people might think that's just _really_ bad luck," Roxanna added. "And maybe it is."

"But when you're a demigod, you get that some upper divine force really is trying to ruin your day." Percy finished.

The quartet was (definitely miserable) walking through the woods along the New Jersey riverbank, the glow of New York City making the night sky yellow behind them, and the smell of the Hudson reeking in their noses.

Grover was shivering and braying, his big goat eyes turned slit-pupiled and full of terror.

"Three war-hounds. _Three_ war-hounds. _Three freaking war-hounds_." He kept chanting.

Roxanna patted him on the back, Grover was never one to curse, so she tried to calm him down a little and get his mind off the war-hounds. "Don't worry, Groves, at least we found out why my dad was after Percy."

"We did?" Percy asked confused.

The only girl nodded. "Yep."

Grover looked down at the small girl, frowning. "Didn't he just want to kill Percy?"

"That too," Roxanna waved it away nonchalantly, earning her a sarcastic '_Thanks, Sunshine'_ from Percy. "but my dad was actually after Percy because he thought Perce stole his helm."

Percy groaned. "Not this again."

Roxanna shrugged. "So now we have to find two stolen symbols of power," she saw Percy was about to argue, so she hurried on. "at least, if you want to clean your name."

Percy sighed in defeat and slumped his shoulders. "_Fine_."

"But how do you expect we do that?" Daimon asked, raising an eyebrow, as something unrecognizable flashed through his eyes. "All our money, food and clothes – everything – was back at the bus, completely blown to pieces now."

"Tin cans... a perfectly good bag of tin cans." Grover brayed mournfully.

Roxanna ignored Grover and grinned impishly. "Well, when you're friends with two sons of Hermes you tend to pick up some nifty tricks."

The four sloshed across mushy ground, through nasty twisted trees that smelled like sour laundry. The thunderstorm had finally let up. The city glow faded behind them, leaving them in almost total darkness.

The four carried on in silence, but whatever little sincere truce they had with the night was interrupted by a shrill _toot-toot-toot, _like the sound of an owl being tortured (the Athena cabin would be overjoyed to hear that).

"Hey, my reed pipes still work!" Grover cried.

Roxanna chocked on her laugh, trying to hid it behind a hand, and whispered, "_Barely_."

Grover didn't hear her. "If I could just remember a 'find path' song, we could get out of these woods!"

He puffed out a few notes, but the tune still sounded suspiciously like Hilary Duff.

Percy immediately slammed into a tree and got a nice-size knot on his head. Roxanna saw Percy fall down, the most shocked expression on his slightly red face. But as Roxanna was about to laugh, she too slammed into a tree headfirst.

She fell down, cursing, and held her head, a big red spot on her forehead. "I swear that tree wasn't there before."

Percy chocked back a laugh, muttering something about karma. Daimon cracked a smile, but seeing as fate and karma were old friends, he slammed into a tree, getting an identical red spot on his skin. That seemed to be the breaking point, as Percy and Roxanna rolled on the ground, laughing, soon joined by Daimon.

Grover seemed to be the only one who didn't get a face-to-face talk with a tree.

"Hey, guys, what are you-" He looked back at the fallen demigods, still laughing. "Erh, what happened?"

Percy laughed. "Add to the list of superpowers I do _not _have: infrared vision."

"What'd you expect, seaweed brain?" Roxanna laughed. "No, wait, I don't want to know."

Percy huffed, got up and brushed the dirt off his clothes.

"This is gonna be a long trip." Daimon said, dusting himself off.

Roxanna snorted.

For another mile or so the quartet… or, well, it was actually only the trio of demigods – Grover was the only one who didn't trip over roots or curse after meeting trees headfirst. More or less, he was the only one who didn't feel all that miserable.

As Roxanna cursed for the umpteenth time, she heard Percy call, "There's light up ahead!"

Roxanna looked to where he was pointing and saw a neon sign shinning through the trees. She could smell wax and food mixed together, not exactly the best smell ever, but when you where hungry and tired? It was probably on pair with gourmet food.

Truth be told, Roxanna wasn't all that for greasy, unhealthy food – actually she'd rather eat an insect. The children didn't exactly get stuff like that in the orphanage, or at Camp Half-Blood (it was the nymphs that prepared the barbecue, which says a lot), but she was hungry and, sometimes, you just needed something greasy and unhealthy.

This was _apparently_ one of those times.

They kept walking until a deserted two-lane road came to view, through the trees. On the other side was a shady bowling center, a tattered billboard with barely recognizable letters and words (the dyslexia didn't help, thought it never did, so nothing knew there), and a big neon sign hung over the entrance to the rundown bowling center, which was the source of the neon light and the wax smell.

Roxanna guessed it looked like any normal bowling center, just rundown and abandoned, since she'd never really been out bowling before. It was old, definitely shady, and looked like it could house some secret gang or the mafia.

But who was she to say no to an opportunity to get food and maybe sleep?

Roxanna tried to read the bright neon sign, but it was impossible. If there was something that was worse for demigods with dyslexia than regular English, it was _red cursive neon_ English.

"Gods I hate dyslexia." She grumbled, then held a hand out, gesturing to the damned sign that was the outlet for her frustration. "Why the Hades is it still working anyway?"

To Roxanna, and the rest of the demigods, it looked like: _IMJS WLOBGIN ETCNRE._

"What the heck does that say?" Percy asked.

"Try asking a demigod who hasn't got dyslexia, Perce."

Grover translated: "Jim's Bowling Center."

Percy crossed the street, too tired to do anything else than follow the smell of delicious, greasy food.

"Hey..." Grover warned.

Roxanna looked at the other two of the quartet, Grover was nervously chewing the color of his shirt, while Daimon looked like he wanted to protest but gave in at the smell of food and a place to rest.

That's when Roxanna saw it, a small light – nearly invisible – shone through one of the windows. But why wouldn't they just turn on the rest of the lights?

"There's a light," Roxanna said. "Maybe it's being renewed or something."

"Snack bar," Percy said wistfully.

"Snack bar," Daimon agreed.

At the time Roxanna had been too tired, frustrated and hungry to even start thinking about why an _abandoned_ bowling center would smell like food.

"Are you three crazy?" Grover said. "This place is weird."

"Right," Roxanna said, nodding, but then, "I say we vote. All those for entering the old abandoned bowling center say, aye."

"Aye!"

"Aye."

Roxanna grinned at Grover. "Aye."

They walked up to the front of the bowling center.

"Don't go in," Grover pleaded. "I smell monsters."

"The Furies have clogged your nose up." Daimon told him.

"All I smell is fast food – hamburgers." Roxanna said, then asked, "What? You're not hungry?"

"Meat!" Grover said scornfully. "I'm a vegetarian."

"You eat cheese enchiladas and aluminum cans," Percy reminded him.

"Those are vegetables." Grover reasoned. "Come on. Let's leave."

Roxanna took Grover by the collar of his shirt and dragged him inside. The quartet entered what was supposed to be the entrance hall, with a shabby old bar in front of them, thought the nachos and hotdogs machines were oddly enough turned on. The shoes behind the bar where either gone or covered with dust, some hanging out. The whole floor was covered in dirt and tapestry. Some of the walls had fallen down, others just had holes in them.

Roxanna eyed the toilet door, wrinkling her nose, which looked like it would fall over with the slightest blow. Daimon walked over to the bar, jumping over the counter, he checked the food machines. Percy looked at the vending machine by the front door, while Grover stood nervously by the door (quite obviously ready to bolt).

"Anything we can eat?" Roxanna asked.

"The food looks eatable." Daimon answered.

"The vending machine looks alright," Percy said. "but we don't have any money, remember?"

Roxanna scoffed, turned her ring so Dusk Cutter sprung forth, and walked over to the vending machine. "Who need money?" but as she was about to hit the glass with all her might a voice spoke, rather loudly, "No, no, _no_. Not _there_, put them _there_."

The quartet exchanged confused looks, and Daimon whispered, "It's coming from over there."

He pointed to the light they had seen from the outside, it seemed suddenly so much brighter, nearly lightening the whole hall up.

"Hide!" Grover hissed, nervously chewing the inside of his cheek.

Daimon ducked behind the bar, as Percy, Grover and Roxanna quickly jumped over the counter and hid with Daimon. They all looked slightly over the top, as a figure came closer. It was walking… no, actually it was _waddling_ over to the front door, where Percy, Grover and Roxanna had been just second ago.

The figure was… _odd_ to say the least.

It had a face like a dog, with a black snout, brown eyes, and pointy ears. Its body was sleek and black like a seal. It had stubby legs that were half flipper and half foot (Roxanna guessed this was why it _waddled_ of all things), and human-like hands with sharp claws. It was about seven feet tall.

Honestly, it looked like a mad-scientist had tried to splice a Doberman pinscher, a human child and a sea lion together, and the experiment had gone completely wrong.

The… _creature_ scratched its head, looking confused. "But I was sure I heard talking from here." Even its voice didn't sound human, it was something between a seal's bark and a dog's growl. Roxanna didn't know how that was possible, but apparently it was.

It waddled around a bit, sometimes coming a bit too close to the bar for comfort, then it stopped, its back to the quartet. Roxanna bit her lower lip, clenching and unclenching her hands.

"Doris!" barked a new voice. "Come back here and we can start the film!"

'Doris' waddled back to the voice, grumbling under his breath.

The quartet breathed out a sigh, glad that it was finally gone.

"Was that a _Telekhine_?" Roxanna said, trying to keep her voice calm.

"Looks like it." Daimon said, a frown on his face and voice grim.

But before anyone could voice a plan they all heard Doris' voice say, "As a young sea demon matures, changes happen in the monster's body. You may notice your fangs getting longer and you may have a sudden desire to devour human beings. These changes are perfectly normal and happen to all young monsters."

"We need to attack _now_." Percy suddenly insisted.

Grover nearly fainted. "What?"

"He's right," Roxanna said, agreeing. "We'll have the element of surprise, and that's the best thing we can have right now."

Daimon looked pained, like he really didn't want to agree with Percy – say that something Percy said was _actually_ quite clever. Daimon half expected – _if_ he agreed – that a pair of trumpets would sound in the background and a golden glow would suddenly surround Percy, signaling the birth of his brain.

Roxanna stared intently at Daimon – trying to communicate somehow that he needed to 'suck it up and grow a pair', as Clarisse would have put it -, almost wishing to hit the boy so he would get over his weird hate for the other.

No wait, there really wasn't an 'almost', Roxanna was actually wishing to hit _both_ of the boys so they could just get along.

In the end, Daimon submitted (_Cough_. To Roxanna's big eyes. _Cough._) and said, "Fine. But we have to be quick and effective."

The other three nodded, with Roxanna smirking.

Yes, yes, Roxanna had learned one of the ultimate tricks women had: puppy dog eyes.

"_Now_." Percy said.

And with that, they all charged, weapons at the ready. The sight that granted them was, to say the least, a bit odd. One telekhine stood behind a camera, another sat in a chair wearing one of those funny hats the French wore, a third held a microphone over Doris, who was standing in front of the camera, a fifth and a sixth just stood besides the one sitting.

In the surprise, Roxanna quickly ran over to Doris, chopping off its head in one swift move. Roxanna turned around, seeing the others also had engaged in battle. Grover played his reed pipes, trying to help the two boys, while Daimon and Percy each attacked a telekhine. But there were still three trying to gain on Roxanna.

Roxanna just couldn't help it.

"New lesson, class," she announced, smirking coolly. "Most monsters won't ever come back after being sliced with a stygian iron sword. This change is _perfectly_ normal, and will happen to you _right now _if you don't BACK OFF!"

The daughter of Hades blinked when it actually worked, the telekhines hesitated, pausing in their advance. She raised an eyebrow, tilting her head to the side.

Roxanna blinked again, as they still didn't move. "Okay then…"

Though, her owlish expression soon turned into a malevolent grin, as she surged forward. She sliced at mutt number one's arm and it let out an agonized roar, shocking the other two out of their hesitation.

Mutt number two slashed with its clawed hand, bringing it down on Roxanna's head. She blocked in the last second and kicked out at its legs, making it fall down. Roxanna twirled around and swung her sword in a wide arc, so mutt number tree backed off a little.

Roxanna rolled out of the way of a claw, coming up she stabbed mutt number two in the legs. It roared, angrily swiping at Roxanna's face. The girl wasn't fast enough in her retreat, getting three small cuts on her cheek and a nick on her ear as a goodbye gift.

The female demigod hissed, cursing at the mutt (which she also so lovingly called it), and the silver in her eyes slowly enveloped the black.

"Next lesson, _mutts_," She growled, eyes fully turning silver. "Never – _ever _– get on the wrong side of a daughter of Hades."

Roxanna surged mutt number two and ducked under a claw, then chopped the out stretched hand off. The telekhine gave a mix between a roar and a whine, pain evident in its voice. But Roxanna would have none of that, as she stabbed it in the thigh. Pulling out her sword she gave it a twist and kicked the telekhine in the stomach, making it fall back.

She stepped back and looked at the other two, panting a little.

"Come on," she urged them.

Mutt number three barked and growled in reply, thought it was cut short as a familiar bronze sword sprung from its chest. Percy appeared, as the telekhine fell down, sword in hand and looked remarkably like a hero.

Roxanna shook her head, huffing, and frowned lightly. Daimon blocked an attack from mutt number one, as Roxanna drove her sword through its stomach and up towards its chest. Like all the others, it turned to golden dust and disappeared.

Mutt number two – being the last one – crawled back in fear, shacking its head, as Roxanna gained on it.

"Sleep tight." With one last swing, the bowling center was once again occupied by the quartet.

Roxanna saw Daimon tighten his grip on his sword, thought she didn't know why. This was the first time where Roxanna could actually really look at it. Like she first saw it was jet-black, and had a long triangle like blade, but what she didn't notice was that the hilt was silver, with a black leather grip, and an inverted torch was embedded into the guard.

Roxanna came to the conclusion that it used to be Daimon's necklace.

The girl wiped away the blood on her cheek and ear, only to be noticed by Grover who let out a concerned yelp.

"Rox!" he quickly removed her hand. "You're bleeding!"

Roxanna shrugged him off. "It's only a scratch – it'll heal."

The daughter of Hades saw a bright red light in the corner of her vision. Turing, she saw that it was coming from the camera. Roxanna blinked and walked over to the camera, she smirked as she saw that it was on the whole time.

"Percy," she called, still looking at the camera. "I have an idea…"

Grover frowned, having already heard of Roxanna's sudden ideas. "What are you going to do?"

Roxanna just smirked. "I'll tell you later."

Percy walked around an office the quartet had found. Apparently the telekhines had used this quite a lot, seeing as Percy found a pouch full of drachmas. He also found some packing slips for Hermes Overnight Express, each with a little leather bag attached for coins.

While Percy was in the office, Roxanna was going through the cash register and surprisingly found twenty-five dollars. She pocketed the money and closed the cash register. The girl went through the cabinets under the bar.

Roxanna wrinkled her nose, as she found an old dusty wine bottle, and opened it. She held the top to her mouth and slowly tipped it over, tasting the substance. "Ugh, I don't know what Mr. D sees in this."

She put the bottle besides her, checking through the cabinet. When she had checked all the cabinets and found nothing of use, either too old or broken, she stood up and called, "Anyone found something we could use?"

Grover appeared in her field of vision. "Nothing."

"We'll have to do without." Daimon said.

Roxanna nodded. "At least we got some food." She gestured to the food and vending machines.

Silence fell over the trio and Roxanna was thankful for the little quiet, finally being able to think without being interrupted by either of the three boys – well, two boys and one satyr, but what does that matter anyway?

She was angry, not at the others, but at the gods. They'd already been in two fights since they left, Zeus had tried to kill them not only once but _twice_ (Roxanna was sure there was more to come), and now they had other matters to deal with too. Since they didn't know who sent the war-hounds – Roxanna suspected it was Ares, but she didn't want to say anything – they had to be careful of everyone. Meaning, they had to be freaking paranoid and trust no one the rest of the quest, until they found out who it was.

_Perfect_.

Percy walked out of the office, with a small pouch was tied to his belt, holding a box and a delivery slip. Roxanna ran over to him, pushing her worries to the back of her mind, while making sure the others didn't see. The two demigods walked over to a table, away from the others.

Roxanna grinned, practically jumping up and down.

"Yeah, yeah, Sunshine."

They both looked at the film, which laid innocently on the table. Percy sat the box and delivery slip besides it. The two glanced at each other, both were grinning mischievously, excitement evident in their eyes.

"They'll think we're impertinent." Roxanna said in a singsong voice.

"We _are_ impertinent." Percy said, smirking.

He opened the box, so Roxanna could put the film in it, and filled the delivery slip out:

_The Gods_

_MountOlympus_

_600th Floor,_

_EmpireState Building_

_New York, NY_

_With best wishes,_

_PERCY JACKSON_

_ROXANNA FLEUR_

"They're not going to like this." Percy chuckled.

Roxanna rolled her eyes, but she was still smirking. "When do they ever?"

"What are you two doing over there?" Grover called.

The girl looked over her shoulder, only to see both Grover and Daimon looking at them curiously. She simply smirked.

"I'll tell you later."

Percy poured some golden drachmas in the pouch. As soon as he closed it, there was a sound like a cash register. The package floated off the table and disappeared with a _pop!_

* * *

**Likey? I know I changed it a lot from the book, but I think it wouldn't be all that good if I just used the same things in the book, so I twisted it a bit. And you can expect more like this, by the way, because I'm gonna change my story so it's… "newer", different from canon.**

**REVIEW! … PLEASE!**


	13. Pam, the god of cooking spray

**A/N Thank you to all who've favored/alerted/reviewed this story! Remember there is still a poll up if you haven't voted!**

**Lvl-ZeR0**: Hmmm *thinks about it*… yeah, you can borrow them, just make sure to walked them twist a day *shivers* You don't want to know what happens if you don't… But anyway, thank you! And I hope this will be just as good if not better (thought it's a bit of a filler)!

Roxanna: Well… there was this one time, before I met Percy, when I got detention because some idiot decided to blame me *frowns*… Anyway, I waited for the guy to go outside and I managed, don't ask me how, to tie his belt to the flag out in the front and hoisted him up for the whole school to see *grins* Though, not before throwing a bucket of paint on his ass.

**Death675**: Thank you so much! ^^ And to answer your question: I'm _planning_ on following the whole series, plus _Heroes of Olympus_, but twisting and turning it so it fits my "vision" or version or whatever… but I'm gonna make so that even if you've read the books, you won't know exactly what will happen (hopefully) ;) Hope that answers your question.

**Shi-Woon**: But I never get tired of hearing it! So thank you a ton for taking the time to write a review ;P You couldn't be more right, thought, even if this story doesn't end up with Pexanna (PercyOC) it will never _ever_ be Percabeth. So don't worry ^^

* * *

_**Chapter 13**_

"_**Pam, the god of cooking spray."**_

* * *

Hestia appeared in the health up on Olympus, her usual spot, since she didn't have a throne. She looked around, all the gods were there except for Hades, who never was all that welcome – which she didn't approve of one bit. Home was a place for _family_, and family was supposed to be at _home_.

Hestia looked at her two brothers, who were – like always – arguing, thought this time it was a bit more then the usual.

"Give me back my master bolt!"

"I don't have it!"

"GIVE IT BACK!"

"I DON'T HAVE YOUR STUPID TOY!"

"IT'S NOT A TOY!"

"BUT IT IS STUPID THEN?!"

Hestia sighed. Why couldn't they just get along? The other gods around them were either minding their own business (planning pranks in Hermes and Apollo's case) or supporting a rather big headache (nearly everybody else).

"Hey guys?"

Hera tired to calm her husband down. "Dear, let's think this through-"

"NO!" at this point Zeus really did sound like a kindergartner. "He stole my bolt and I want it back!"

Poseidon rolled his eyes. "I did not, nor will I ever, take your toy!"

"Guys?"

"DON'T LIE! YOU STOLE IT JUST BECAUSE MOTHER ALWAYS LIKED ME THE BEST!"

"DON'T BRING MOTHER INTO THIS, YOU OVERGROWN BABY!"

"I WILL SMITE YOU WITH MY BOLT!"

"DID I HIT A NERVE, _LITTLE BROTHER_?!"

"OI!" Hermes yelled gaining the attention of everyone. He continued, upbeat, "We've got a package." True to his word, a package laid innocently in his lap.

"Who's it from?" Athena asked.

Hermes read aloud, "To the gods, with best wishes, Percy Jackson and Roxanna Fleur."

"Isn't that your son, Poseidon?" Athena asked, then mused to herself. "The other most be the daughter of Hades."

Demeter crossed her arms. "If that girl is anything like her father she clearly needs some cereal."

Poseidon ignored Demeter and nodded. "Yes, but what did they send?"

Hermes opened the package, face full of excitement, but as soon as he saw what was inside his face fell. Apollo frowned and looked over his half-brother's shoulder, his face mirrored the other's.

"What is it?" Ares asked, getting impatient.

Apollo pulled out the content. "It's a… film."

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "A film? Why would they send a film?"

"Maybe it has some sort of message." Athena reasoned.

"Then let us watch this film." Zeus said dramatically.

Hephaestus refrained from rolling his eyes (like everyone else) and waved his hand, making a big screen like TV appear in the middle of the room. The film flew over to the screen and inserted itself into it. At first, nothing happened other than a black screen and TV static, but then two children – a boy and a girl – appeared.

The boy looked a lot like Poseidon, except younger, he had the same messy jet-black hair, sea-green eyes, athletic body built. Anyone could clearly see that this was Poseidon's son. He appearance seemed a bit ruffled, as if he had just been in a fight.

The girl was small, had princess curled black hair and particular black and silver eyes. She too looked like she had been in a brawl and come out victorious. Three thin cuts marred her left cheek and a nick in her left ear.

Percy gave a lopsided smile. _"Thought we'd give you a little entertainment, seeing as all you do is bicker. Hopefully this way you'll see what actually happens to your children, and think about lashing out next time."_

The two demigods grinned and said, _"Enjoy."_

The two disappeared and in their stead came a telekhine, who said, in a narrator like voice, _"As a young sea demon matures, changes happen in the monster's body."_

"It's called puberty." Apollo said matter-of-factly.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Which you and Hermes still haven't finished going through."

"_You may notice your fangs getting longer and you may have a sudden desire to devour human beings." _The narrator continued.

Hermes smacked his lips. "That's how I feel every time I see a Big Tasty Bacon."

"_These changes are perfectly normal and happen to all young monsters."_

Apollo turned to Ares. "See? It's perfectly normal."

Ares sharpened his sword, which came out of nowhere. "What did you say?"

"N-nothing." Apollo gulped.

The demigods charged into the film scene, weapons ready.

"Charge!" Apollo and Hermes cheered, encouragingly.

"For Sparta!" Ares yelled, sword raised.

Every god and goddess looked weirdly at the war god.

"What?" he asked. "You know I loved the place." he went on.

Roxanna quickly ran over to the narrator telekhine and chopped its head off in one swift move.

"Finally those creatures get what they had coming." Hephaestus mumbled.

Roxanna turned around, seeing the others also had engaged in battle. The satyr played his reed pipes, trying to help the two boys, while a third older boy and Percy each attacked a telekhine.

Poseidon grinned and cheered for his son. "Go Percy!"

_"New lesson, class,"_ Roxanna announced, smirking coolly. _"Most monsters won't ever come back after being sliced with a stygian iron sword. This change is __perfectly__ normal, and will happen to you __right now __if you don't BACK OFF!"_

Artemis smiled. "I wonder if she would like to join my hunters."

"No!" Aphrodite yelled, eyes comically wide. "You will not ruin my next project!"

Artemis glared at the love goddess. "Like all my hunters, she does not _need_ a pitiful _boy_!"

Aphrodite pouted, narrowing her eyes, and crossed her arms. "Love will always triumph." She said crossly.

Artemis opened her mouth to retort but Zeus, very annoyed now, cut her off. "Enough!"

Roxanna's owlish expression soon turned into a malevolent grin, as she surged forward.

Demeter huffed. "So like her _father_."

As Roxanna fought the three telekhines, Zeus couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed at how well it seemed to go for her. She was swiftly slicing and blocking attacks, twirling around so to never be jumped from behind. As the daughter of Hades swung her sword in a wide arc, one of the telekhines backed off.

Zeus irritably grumbled, "She's quite a…" here he made a face. "powerful demigod."

"Yes," Athena nodded. "but I do wonder how powerful she will be in the future." Here _Athena_ made a face. "The son of Poseidon too."

Roxanna dodged the first pair of claws and stabbed a telekhine in the leg, who then took a swipe at the girl's face. The female demigod wasn't fast enough and got three small cuts on her cheek and a nick on her ear.

Aphrodite looked on horrified. "Not the face!" she cried, hands holding her face as if _she_ was the one cut. "It's a women's greatest treasure!" she proceeded to check her reflection in a mirror, terrified three small cut would suddenly appear.

The female demigod hissed, cursing at the telekhine (which got a few raised eyebrows from the gods), and the silver in her eyes slowly enveloped the black.

"Oh!" exclaimed Aphrodite, forgetting about the mirror. "Pretty! Now I just need to find the perfect outfit!" she said gleefully.

Artemis refrained from shooting an arrow at the beautiful goddess, as her eye twitched.

Apollo leaned over to Hermes and whispered, "You think Arty is okay? I've never seen her eye twitch that much."

"Maybe she's getting withdrawal symptoms from not hunting in so long?" Hermes whispered back uncertainly.

_"Next lesson, __mutts__,"_ Roxanna growled, eyes fully turning silver. _"Never – __ever __– get on the wrong side of a daughter of Hades."_

"Anger management issues just like her father." Demeter said. "She needs some cereal!"

Roxanna continued to fight the telekhines, chopping a hand off a telekhine in the process. She stabbed and slashed, working well on her own, and kicked one of the telekhines back. The daughter Hades urged the monster on, taunting them to attack her.

Then a bronze sword sprung from one of the telekhines' chest. As the telekhine fell down, Percy appeared, sword in hand and looked remarkably like a hero.

"That's the way son!" Poseidon cheered. "Show those sea mutts whose boss!"

Roxanna, with the help of the other older boy, killed the still standing telekhine. And like all the others before itself, it turned to golden dust and disappeared. The last telekhine crawled back in fear, shacking its head, as Roxanna gained on it.

Roxanna swung her sword. _"Sleep tight."_

The screen changed and the fight scene disappeared as the imagine of Roxanna standing calmly in front of the camera showed. She gave a smirk, though it soon turned into an uncharacteristic sweet smile.

"_To dearest uncle Zeus," _her smile widened and she held her hands behind her back, rocking back and forth on her heels.

"_I couldn't help but notice that you have a 'few'" _here she made air quotes._ "anger issues, after all, you have been trying to fry us with lightning."_ Roxanna nodded her head to herself, as if they were talking about old childhood memories._ "Good times, good times. Anyway, I heard yoga should do the trick."_

She gave a cheeky grin._ "Or you could just get laid, you do have a beautiful wife after all." _Her grin had turned into an amused smiled, borderline on a smirk, and she shrugged nonchalantly._ "You should really try it, besides if that doesn't help, yoga is a good excuse to meet new people. More specifically: women." _She winked, chuckling lightly.

"_Hope it helps!"_ Roxanna waved, a mischievous grin on her lips._ "Love, your favourite (and only) niece, Roxanna Fleur."_

The credits started to roll down the now black screen, as some way too cheerful music sounded in the background.

_This documentary is brought to you by Demigod Records, with the help of Telekhine Studios._

_Produced by,_

_Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon_

_Roxanna Fleur, daughter of Hades_

_Guest appearances,_

_Daimon 'Akilles' Dinkle, son of Thanatos_

_Grover Underwood the satyr_

_Doris the Telekhine_

_Five other unknown telekhines_

_Lots of telekhines were hurt during the production of this movie._

_In memory of the late Doris, the Telekhine, we ask for 5 minutes of silence…_

_The rest we don't care about._

The film screen turned black one last time.

Mr. D turned the page in his wine magazine and looked over the edge. "I knew there was a reason I liked that girl."

Zeus was the first to explode. "HOW DARE THEY! THIS IS A MOCKERY!"

"Peace, brother," Poseidon held in a chuckle as Zeus turned angry eyes to him. "they are simply a little… ah, _frustrated_ with us."

"I WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS!" Zeus nearly stumped the ground with his foot.

"I think it's kinda funny." Apollo said meekly.

Hermes nodded his head in agreement, and said, also meekly, "You've gotta give it to them, they've got balls." He tried for a smile.

Zeus turned angry eyes on his two prank loving sons and they both tried to hide behind the other. Hestia smiled as she stepped out of her health.

"I agree with Poseidon," she said warmly. "we have unfairly and selfishly made them go on a quest that was never their problem to start with."

Zeus sat back down, and _no_ he was _not_ pouting like a little child who'd just been scowling by his mother, he was simply… expressing his anger (in a _very_ manly way).

"Well… now what?"

Back with our (unlucky) quartet, as they were making their way through the woods.

"You two did _what_?!" Grover yelled, alarmed.

Percy shrugged. "Sent a film with a message to the gods."

"Are you crazy!"

"I'd like to think that I'm at least partly sane thank you very much." Roxanna said calmly.

Daimon, for once, didn't have a frown or smirk or stoic expression on his face but a shocked one, comically so… for Roxanna anyway. Daimon rubbed his temple. "And you thought this was a good idea, why?"

Roxanna grinned. "Who ever said it was a _good_ idea?"

The quartet camped out in the woods, a hundred yards from the main road, in a marshy clearing that local kids had obviously been using for parties. The ground was littered with flattened soda cans and fast-food wrappers.

They had taken some food and blankets from Jim's Bowling Center (why it would have blankets no one bothered to question), but the quest members didn't dare light a fire to dry their damp clothes. The war-hounds and telekhines had provided fairly enough excitement for one day. And they didn't want to attract anything else.

Roxanna wrapped a blanket around herself, let out a tired sigh and looked up at the night sky. Daimon laid down on a blanket, hands beneath his head. Grover fluttered with his flying shoes to the lowest bough of a tree, put his back to the trunk, and stared at the night sky. Percy sat down on a blanket, not all that for sleeping yet, even thought he was dead tired.

"And what have we learned from this?" Grover asked, just so they didn't have to hear the eerie silence of the night.

"That you don't want to meet a hormonal telekhine." Roxanna chimed in from her spot. "And that there are telekhines named Doris… of all possible names out there – its name is _Doris_." She mumbled the last part, bewildered. She sighed, as if disappointed.

The three boys – wisely – choose to ignore her comment.

"We should probably get some rest," Percy told them. "I'll take the first watch."

The others gave a hum of agreement – they had agreed on taking shifts -, but none closed they're eyes, somehow still wide-awake.

Grover continued to look up at the night sky. "It makes me sad."

"What does?" Percy asked. "The fact that you signed up for this stupid quest?"

"No. _This _makes me sad." Grover pointed at all the garbage on the ground. "And the sky. You can't even see the stars. They've polluted the sky. This is a terrible time to be a satyr."

"Oh, yeah. I guess you'd be an environmentalist."

Roxanna couldn't help but snort at the comment, while Daimon smirked.

Grover glared at Percy. "Only a human wouldn't be. Your species is clogging up the world so fast... ah, never mind. It's useless to lecture a human. At the rate things are going, I'll never find Pan."

"Pam? Like the cooking spray?"

Roxanna quickly cut Grover off from his on coming rant. "_Pan_, Perce, P-A-_N_. He was supposed to be the god satyr of the wild, and a lot of other things I don't feel like mentioning."

"What do you think I want a searcher's license for?" Grover cried indignantly.

A strange breeze rustled through the clearing, temporarily overpowering the stink of trash and muck. It brought the smell of berries and wildflowers and clean rainwater, things that might've once been in these woods. Roxanna inhaled, smile on her face, and she was suddenly yearning for something she never knew.

"Tell me about the search," Percy said.

Roxana hummed in agreement. "Yeah, I wanna know too."

Grover looked at them cautiously, as if he were afraid they were just making fun.

"The God of Wild Places disappeared two thousand years ago," he told them all. "A sailor off the coast of Ephesos heard a mysterious voice crying out from the shore, 'Tell them that the great god Pan has died!' When humans heard the news, they believed it. They've been pillaging Pan's kingdom ever since. But for the satyrs, Pan was our lord and master. He protected us and the wild places of the earth. We refuse to believe that he died. In every generation, the bravest satyrs pledge their lives to finding Pan. They search the earth, exploring all the wildest places, hoping to find where he is hidden, and wake him from his sleep."

"And you want to be a searcher." Percy stated.

"It's my life's dream," Grover said. "My father was a searcher. And my Uncle Ferdinand..." Grover trailed off, then shook his head and started talking again but it was more like he was talking to himself. "Uncle Ferdinand knew the risks. So did my dad. But I'll succeed. I'll be the first searcher to return alive."

Roxanna shot up from her laying position. "Hold on- Wait just a- _what? The first?_ Are you out of your effing _mind_?"

Daimon grimaced from his spot. "That's seems to be a bit over board, don't you think?"

Grover took his reed pipes out of his pocket. "No searcher has ever come back. Once they set out, they disappear. They're never seen alive again."

"Not _once_ in two thousand years?" Percy asked, afraid for his friend but also immensely proud.

Grover didn't look at them. "No."

Roxanna bit her lower lip. "What about your dad? You have no idea what happened to him?"

"None."

"But you still want to go," Percy said, amazed. "I mean, you really think you'll be the one to find Pan?"

"I have to believe that, Percy. Every searcher does. It's the only thing that keeps us from despair when we look at what humans have done to the world. I have to believe Pan can still be awakened."

Roxanna smiled, proud of her friend, and laid back down curling up with the blanket around her. She looked over to Daimon, but it seemed he had already fallen asleep, then over to Percy, who had laid down now, and then at Grover, who was still fiddling with his reed pipes.

She stared at the orange haze of the sky and bit her lip again. Was she really any better then Grover? Because she, too, was pursuing a dream – a simple question – that seemed so hopeless. How could she even begin to think that she'd get a straight answer?

"How are we going to get into the Underworld?" Roxanna asked the two boys, who still weren't sleeping. "I mean, I don't think me dad's going to have a doorbell."

"No idea." Grover admitted with a shrug.

"Maybe you could, I don't know, pray to your dad?" Percy suggested.

Roxanna shot Percy a glare and said curtly, "I'm not going to pray to him." She huffed. "Besides, what is that going to help? I don't think he'll send a tour guide to take us to the Underworld if that's what you think."

The two boys merely sighed, used to the girl's behavior and stubbornness.

"Even _if_ we somehow manage to get to the Underworld," Percy said. "what chance do we have against a god?"

"My dad didn't take it." Roxanna said frustrated. "If you don't remember _he_ had something stolen from him too."

Percy sighed. "Then who do you suggest took the two symbols of power?"

"Well the prophecy said it was _two_ gods." Daimon said.

Roxanna looked over at him, a little shocked, and saw that he had turned around to face the rest of them. They must have woken him up.

"Yeah, Hades and Persephone." Grover said. "They're close, it would make sense."

Roxanna sent Grover a heated glare. "But we've been attack by _war_-hounds, the only god I can think of right of the bat that has anything to do with _war_ is Ares."

"So Ares stole the bolt and helm?" Percy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Daimon shrugged. "Not directly."

"Then who's the other?" Grover said, frowning.

"Aphrodite?" Percy asked.

"She doesn't really _seem_ the type."

"Won't that make her perfect? No one would've seen it coming."

Roxanna let out a frustrated cry. "Argh! I just can't help but think we're missing something significant here."

"I know. But if we've misunderstood something about this quest, and we only have nine days to find the master bolt..." Grover looked at the others like he was hoping for answers, but none of them had any.

Roxanna sighed. "I'm going to sleep, this is too confusing." With that, she rolled over and curled up again. She fell asleep almost instantly.

"That's probably a good idea." Daimon said softly. "We're going to need the rest." He turned away from the others and soon all Percy and Grover could hear was steady breathing.

The two sat in silence, both tired but couldn't sleep just yet.

"I haven't been straight with you," Percy finally told Grover. "I don't care about the master bolt. Or the helm for that matter. I agreed to go to the Underworld so I could bring back my mother."

Grover blew a soft note on his pipes. "I know that, Percy. But are you sure that's the only reason?"

"I'm not doing it to help my father." Percy said curtly. "He doesn't care about me. I don't care about him."

Grover gazed down from his tree branch. "Look, Percy, I'm not as clever as Roxanna. I'm not as strong as Daimon. I'm not as brave as you. But I'm pretty good at reading emotions. You're glad your dad is alive. You feel good that he's claimed you, and part of you wants to make him proud. That's why you mailed that film to Olympus. You wanted him to notice what you'd done."

"Yeah?" Percy said, already pulling his defenses up. "Well maybe satyr emotions work differently than human emotions. Because you're wrong. I don't care what he thinks."

Grover pulled his feet up onto the branch. "Okay, Percy. Whatever."

"Besides, I haven't done anything worth bragging about. We barely got out of New York and we're stuck here with no money and no way west."

Grover looked at the night sky, like he was thinking about that problem. "How about _I_ take first watch, huh? You get some sleep."

Percy wanted to protest, but Grover started to play Mozart, soft and sweet, and Percy turned away, his eyes stinging. After a few bars of Piano Concerto no. 12, he was asleep.

Roxanna dreamt of a dark cavern, before her a big gaping pit. Gray misty creatures churned all around her, whispering rags of smoke that she knew – _felt_ – were the spirits of the dead. Roxanna looked around, seeing nothing more than misty unclear darkness surrounding her – it made her hair stand on end.

Roxanna felt the spirits tug at her clothes, desperate to pull her back – to what she assumed was safety.

_Run, princess!, _they called. _Run back to your father!_

But Roxanna didn't move an inch and stubbornly held her ground. She didn't want to rely solely on her dad – she had taken care of herself for all these years, so why should she start now? Roxanna _was_ grateful, truly, but why should she rely on others if she could fend for herself?

Roxanna saw Percy walking towards the pit, oblivious to her standing a couple ways back.

_Percy!_, Roxanna called, but to no avail. Percy didn't even hesitate – it was like he hadn't heard her at all – and he continued to walk, as the she saw the spirits trying to pull him back too. Roxanna hurriedly ran toward him and held a hand out, she was about to pull him back by the scruff of his T-shirt, as he looked down into the chasm, but her hand pasted right through him.

Roxanna stepped back in surprise and, a bit fearfully, let her hand run through Percy's body as if it was no more than an illusion. She didn't like it one bit, and the chasm only fuelled her uneasiness.

She saw Percy step back from the chasm, dizzily. Roxanna couldn't blame him, the pit yawned so wide and was so completely black, it would have made anyone dizzy. Thought, Roxanna somehow knew it was bottomless. Yet she had the feeling that something was at the supposed 'bottom', trying to rise from the abyss – something huge and evil.

_The little hero, _an amused voice echoed far down in the darkness. _Too weak, too young, but you will have to do. Unless you'll willingly give me your friend and save yourself?_

The voice felt ancient – cold and heavy.

Percy looked down at the pit angrily, and shouted, _I'll never give you anything!_

The voice just chuckled darkly, as if it knew something they didn't. Roxanna stepped up besides Percy, willing to try one last time, if not just to get him out of there. She tried to grab Percy's shoulder, but her hand, like before, past straight through.

_Percy_, she tried to see if he could hear her this time. _Percy!_

_He can't hear your pitiful calls, daughter of Hades,_ said the voice mockingly. Roxanna felt the voice wrap around her like sheets of lead and tried to shake it off.

Percy spun on the spot, looking frantically around for any sign of the female demigod. _Roxanna? _he called. _Where are you?_

Roxanna didn't answer, she had a feeling the voice – for once – was telling the truth. She inhaled slowly, face set in a cold frown, and turned back to the chasm.

_What do you want from us?_ she said, voice full of poorly hidden venom and frustration. _What could we possibly do for you?_

_You will bow to me soon enough, girl,_ the voice mocked. _Just_ _like your brothers before you, you will do anything to feed that hunger for power._

Roxanna clenched her fists but didn't say anything, she felt as if she'd been dismissed, and so, the voice was very unlikely to answer her.

_They have misled you, boy, _it said to Percy. _Barter with me. I will give you what you want._

A shimmering image hovered over the void: Percy's mother, Sally, frozen at the moment she'd dissolved in a shower of gold. Her face was distorted with pain, as if the Minotaur were still squeezing her neck. Her eyes looked directly at Percy, pleading: _Go!_

Percy tried to cry out, but his voice wouldn't work.

Cold laughter echoed from the chasm. An invisible force pulled Percy forward. It was slowly dragging him into the pit, but Percy stood firm.

_Help me rise, boy. _The voice became hungrier. _Bring me the bolt. Strike a blow against the treacherous gods!_

Roxanna tried to grab Percy, despite her earlier failed attempts, but like the other times, her hands passed right through him. She stepped back from the chasm and spun around, looking for the spirits, who had been able to touch Percy before.

_Help him!_ she said – _ordered_ – and she felt the spirits stiffen.

They didn't move, instead they tugged and called, _Run, princess! We must protect you!_

Roxanna fought against the tugs and pulls, as she was slowly pulled away from Percy and chasm. If she didn't do something fast, Percy would fall.

_No!_ Roxanna felt herself grow angry with the spirits and ordered more forcefully, _Help Percy!_

Percy tried to move back, away from the invisible grip, but it was impossible.

The spirits of the dead began pulling him back, whispering around him,_ Wake! _

The image of his mother began to fade. The thing in the pit tightened its unseen grip around Percy, only resulting in the spirits tugging harder. Percy then realized it wasn't interested in pulling him in. It was using him to pull itself _out._

_Good, _it murmured. _Good._

_Wake! _the dead whispered, another familiar voice had joined in, a bit more forcefully. _Wake!_

Someone was shaking Percy.

He opened his eyes, sea-green met black and silver, and Roxanna's face was the first thing that came into focus.

"Percy?" Roxanna said, as she pulled back.

It was daylight.

"I'm awake," Percy mumbled, holding a hand to his forehead, as he felt a headache coming. "I'm awake."

Roxanna gave a small uncharacteristic smile, stood up and walked over to Daimon.

Percy was trembling from the dream. He could still feel the grip of the chasm monster around his chest. "How long was I asleep?"

"Long enough." Daimon said curtly, and tossed Percy a bag of nacho-flavored corn chips from Jim's Bowling Center's snack bar.

"So what do we do now?" Percy asked, once he had eaten the chips.

Percy thought about his dream – the whispering voices of the dead, Roxanna, the thing in the chasm, and his mother's face, shimmering as it dissolved into gold – and sent Roxanna a look that clearly said they would be talking soon.

She nodded her head once, but her eyes told another story.

Roxanna walked back to the three boys, who were hiding in an alleyway, hands in her pockets and posture relaxed. She looked out of the corner of her eye, looking after anyone who might have followed her, and slowly wove through the crowd. She disappeared into the alleyway.

"I still feel this is wrong." Percy mumbled.

Roxanna rolled her eyes. "You do what you can to survive, besides," she gave a shrug. "they'll get over it."

Roxanna pulled the stolen wallet up from her pocket, searching it for money and handed what she found to Grover, who gave a small yelp. "W-what if we're caught?"

"Then Travis and Connor will be very disappointed." Roxanna threw the wallet into the garbage bin.

Daimon sighed. "Sometimes I still wonder if you were claimed by the wrong god."

"Think of it this way: the people are just… donating… a generous sum of money (without knowing) to help us on our quest to stop World War Three." Roxanna grinned mischievously.

"That doesn't make it any better." Percy mumbled.

"If you say so." Roxanna waved it off. "Now we just need to buy tickets to Los Angeles. Easy."

"_Not_ another bus," Percy said warily.

"No," Daimon agreed, shaking his head, arms crossed.

Grover pointed at a train sign, something the others hadn't noticed. "There's an Amtrak station not far from here. We better hurry."

* * *

**A bit of a filler if you ask me but… meh…**

**I'm still looking for one who can help me with a cover, if you're interested PM me!**

**And one more thing: my final exams are coming up this week (the first one is May 13****th****), I have warned you!**

**Review! Pretty please!**


	14. How to roast or flatten a demigod 101

**Anaklusmos14**: Thank you! ^^

**Lvl-ZeR0**: Me too and thank you so much :) I hope you and the war-hounds get first place ;) if not... well, let's just say the judges had their chance *grins evilly*

Roxanna: Umm... I used to walk around in the woods by Yancy Academy at night. Does that count? And I guess I'm okay at track *shrugs*

**AmaazeX**: Yeah, it'd be kinda 'Mary-sue' if I had Roxanna beat every monster they come across... Anyway, thank you for the review! ;P

* * *

_**Chapter 14**_

"_**How to roast or flatten a demigod 101."**_

* * *

The quartet spent two days on the Amtrak, heading west through hills, over rivers, past amber waves of grain, not leaving their compartment. They had agreed on not going out of the compartment, unless it was for food or the bathroom, not wanting to attract too much attention now that Percy was a 'wanted' boy.

Percy especially tried to keep a low profile. His name and picture were splattered over the front pages of several East Coast newspapers. The _Trenton Register-News _showed a photo taken by a tourist as he and Roxanna got off the Greyhound bus. Percy had a wild look in his eyes, his sword a metallic blur in his hands (it might've been a baseball bat or a lacrosse stick). Roxanna was holding Percy's arm and her sword in the other, which was a black misty blur.

The picture's caption read:

_Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson, wanted for questioning in the Long Island disappearance of his mother two weeks ago, is shown here, with a twelve-year-old Roxanna Fleur, fleeing from the bus where he, Fleur and three elderly female passengers caused panic and mayhem._

_The bus exploded on an east New Jersey roadside shortly after Jackson and Fleur fled the scene. Based on eyewitness accounts, police believe the boy and girl may be traveling with two teenage accomplices. Jackson's stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, has offered a cash reward for information leading to his capture._

_Of what the police know, Fleur is an orphaned girl, and has contacted the orphanage where she lived. Mrs. Oswell, the caretaker of the orphanage, told the police that young Fleur ran away not long ago, leaving a small note explaining her sudden disappearance. With no leads as to where she may have gone, the police continue their search for the two teenagers._

"They won't catch us." Roxanna told him defiantly.

Once, Roxanna spotted a family of centaurs galloping across a wheat field, bows at the ready, as they hunted what would soon be their lunch. The little boy centaur, who was the size of a second-grader on a pony, caught her eye and waved. Roxanna smiled lightly and waved back.

Another time, toward evening, she saw something huge moving through the woods. Roxanna could've sworn it was a lion, except that lions don't live wild in America, and this thing was the size of a Hummer. Its fur glinted gold in the evening light. Then it leaped through the trees and was gone.

Their… 'donated' money from the 'borrowed' wallets had only been enough to purchase tickets as far as Denver. They were just lucky enough to get a compartment for themselves, which they dozed off in. Of course, it wasn't the most comfortable way of sleeping, seeing as they all ended up with stiff necks, but it was better than nothing.

Percy tried not to drool in his sleep, as Roxanna had taken a liking to using his shoulder as a pillow since the field trip. It honestly felt like the drive to the museum was years ago – so much had happened in such a short amount of time.

Grover kept snoring and bleating while Daimon was the opposite, he was quietly sitting/lying in his seat, breathing steadily.

"So," Percy began, once he was sure the other two boys were asleep. "About that dream…"

Roxanna tensed, reminding Percy of a wild animal that'd been caught, as her eyes darted around. Her head was no longer resting on his shoulder and she was biting her lower lip, something Percy had learned to look after, because it meant she was nervous. Same with the brushing strands of hair back that wasn't there.

"What do you mean?" she said in a tight voice.

"The dream we both had when we were camping in the woods," Percy elaborated, despite knowing that she already knew. "with the pit and spirits of the dead and the… the voice." Percy faltered a little, he wasn't all that sure the voice _was_ exactly that – a voice – but something else, something evil.

Roxanna sighed quietly, as to not wake the others. "What about it?"

"Where you there the whole time?"

Roxanna hummed in confirmation.

Percy nodded, then said, "You know your father's symbol of power?"

"Yeah?" Roxanna hummed sleepily, hiding a yawn behind her hand.

"Doesn't he have that Helm-of-Darkness-hat-thingy?"

Roxanna looked up at Percy, seemingly more interested now. "You mean my dad's drinking hat?" she said. "Yeah, that's his symbol of power. Why?"

"Isn't it like Annabeth's hat of invisibility?"

Roxanna looked surprised. "She's got an invisibility hat? Damn." She then waved it off, shaking her head. "Well, from what I know than its probably a lot more powerful than bird brain's hat." She explained. "It basically allows him to become darkness. He can melt into shadow or pass through walls. He can't be touched, or seen, or heard. And he can radiate fear so intense it can drive you insane or stop your heart." Roxanna shrugged, as if they were talking about the weather.

"But then... how do we know that whoever's stole it isn't watching us right now or earlier?" Percy asked.

Roxanna paused, then, "We don't."

"Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better," Percy shook his head and changed the topic. "Do you have any idea of who it could be down in the pit?"

Roxanna tensed again. "I have an idea, but I'm not too sure." She added hastily.

Percy looked down at the girl. She looked as if she was scared of voicing her suggestion, as if that would make it real. Percy was suddenly filled with determination and said, "Whoever it is, he's got my mom."

Roxanna looked up at Percy, hearing his statement, and smiled. "And like I promised you, I'll help."

She laid her head back on Percy's shoulder and dozed off to Grover's snoring, while Percy gazed out the train windows as the dark fields of Ohio raced by.

Not being able to walk outside of the compartment bored the demigods' ADHD infested minds to Tartarus and back, so they ended up exploring on the third day.

Roxanna was surprised they held out that long.

Monsters hadn't attacked once in the three long days, but that didn't exactly make it any better – it just made all of them skittish and jumpy.

Percy honestly felt they were traveling around in a display case, being watched from above and (maybe?) from below, that something was waiting for the right opportunity.

Roxanna walked passed the umpteenth compartment without any life in it – they didn't even look used. She frowned, a feeling of dread making it's way into her stomach. The times the quartet _had_ been out of their little space they hadn't seen anyone, but they had assumed it was because the four had purposely either come too early or too late for anyone to come across them.

Roxanna opened the door to the next train wagon, a rather small one at that, one with seats instead of compartments.

Empty. The girl walked down the aisle, looking for _any_ sign of life – a bag, candy litter, a cop of coffee. But she found none. The feeling of dread continued to grow.

Deciding to go back to the others and tell about what she found out – or rather, what she _didn't_ find –, Roxanna turned around and set towards the door she came in through, when the door slid open.

The three boys came in, all looking more or less as Roxanna felt.

"Something's wrong with this train." Grover finally said.

Roxanna agreed wholeheartedly, nodding. "Yeah, all the compartments I've walked by are completely void of life, as for this wagon." She jerked her head behind her, gesturing to said little wagon.

Daimon frowned. "But there were people on this train when we first got on."

"Something's coming," Grover squeaked. "from the other side."

But before Roxanna could fully turn around, she heard the door in the other end of the wagon slide open and then closed. What Roxanna saw wasn't exactly all that fearful or frightening, so she couldn't really see why Grover was trembling. That is, until she remembered the furies, who had all disguised themselves, so maybe this lady was doing the same?

The lady was big and fat, and she had a Chihuahua with a rhinestone collar, clutched to her persona. Roxanna felt a little bad for the dog, seeing as the fat lady's massive chest was slowly squashing (the life out of) it.

"No parents?" the fat lady suddenly asked them.

She had beady eyes; pointy, coffee-stained teeth; a floppy denim hat, and a denim dress that bulged so much, she looked like a blue-jean blimp.

"They're back in our compartment," Roxanna told her curtly, eyeing her persona. "Their stomachs aren't agreeing with them as of now, must have eaten something bad."

"Oh, the poor darlings."

The Chihuahua growled. The woman said, "Now, now, sonny. Behave." The dog had beady eyes like its owner, intelligent and vicious.

"Sonny. Is that his name?" Percy asked.

"No," the lady told him. She smiled, as if that cleared everything up.

Grover smiled uneasily at the fat lady. She smiled back, her forked tongue flickering between her teeth. Roxanna's eyes widened.

Forked… tongue?

She didn't seem to be the only one who'd noticed, because both Percy and Daimon pulled her closer to the group. Before anyone could really do anything about the new discovery, the lady's Chihuahua jumped down and started yapping at the quest members.

"Now, now, sonny," the lady said. "We need to be patient."

The Chihuahua bared his teeth at the group – especially at Percy and Roxanna –, foam dripping from his black lips.

"Well, son," the fat lady sighed. "If you insist."

Roxanna felt as if she'd just taken a glass of ice-cold water and tensed. Son?

"Erh," Percy hesitated. "did you just call that Chihuahua your _son_?"

_"Chimera, _dear," the fat lady corrected. "Not a Chihuahua. It's an easy mistake to make."

She rolled up her denim sleeves, revealing that the skin of her arms was scaly and green. When she smiled, Roxanna saw that her teeth were fangs. The pupils of her eyes were side ways slits, like a reptile's.

The Chihuahua barked louder, and with each bark, it grew. First to the size of a Doberman, then to a lion. The bark became a roar.

The Chimera was now so tall its back broke the roof, it swiped one of its claws at the roof, annoyed at the small space, tearing it apart so the sky showed. It had the head of a lion with a blood-caked mane, the body and hooves of a giant goat, and a serpent for a tail, a ten-foot-long diamondback growing right out of its shaggy behind. The rhinestone dog collar still hung around its neck, and the plate-sized dog tag was now easy to read: CHIMERA – RABID, FIRE-BREATHING, POISONOUS – IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL TARTARUS – EXT. 954.

Roxanna nearly groaned out loud. Why did other people have to screw her life up so much? Couldn't she at least do that herself?

The quartet froze, positive that the moment anyone of them moved the Chimera would lung. They were close to the Chimera – too close for comfort, but then again, who would be comfortable with being in the same wagon as a Chimera? –, its bloody maw opening as its tongue lolled into the open.

Weirdly enough, Roxanna was suddenly reminded of a playful dog… but that thought was soon squashed when the Chimera growled lowly.

The snake lady made a hissing noise that might've been laughter. "Be honored, Percy Jackson and Roxanna Fleur. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test heroes with one of my brood. For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!"

Percy stared at her. Roxanna looked bewildered and annoyed. "Test? Are you kidding me!" she threw her arms up in frustration. "Fuck tests! This is attempted murder! _Again_!"

Roxanna felt a hand on her arm, but she didn't turn to see whom it was.

All Percy could think to say was: "Isn't echidna a kind of anteater?"

Despite Roxanna's annoyance she found it in herself to give a small snort.

Echidna, however, didn't find it as funny and howled, her reptilian face turning brown and green with rage. "I hate it when people say that! I hate Australia! Naming that ridiculous animal after me. For that, Percy Jackson, my son shall destroy you first!"

The Chimera charged, its lion teeth gnashing. The group all leaped aside, behind the train seats, and dodged the bite.

The quartet readied themselves – swords sprung forth, ballpoint pen uncapped and reed pipes pulled from a pocket. Percy ran to the other side of the wagon, and yelled, "Hey, Chihuahua!" The Chimera turned faster than anyone would've thought possible.

Before he could swing his sword, it opened its mouth, emitting a stench like the world's largest barbecue pit, and shot a column of flame straight at Percy.

"Percy!" Roxanna cried out.

He dove through the explosion. The side of the train burst into flames; the heat was so intense, it nearly seared off Percy's eyebrows. Where he had been standing a moment before was a ragged hole in the side of the train, with melted metal steaming around the edges. Wind blew into the train pulling and pushing at anyone and anything it could get its invisible hands on. A bridge was in the distance, crossing a big river.

Roxanna sprung into action, Dusk Cutter in hand, she slashed at one of the Chimera's back legs. The Chimera roared, its serpent tail snapping out after the girl with its long fangs, which was blocked by Daimon's sword.

Grover started to play a tune and, surprisingly enough, the Chimera seemed to be getting drunk. Or something similar, because it was swaying slightly and its eyes were unfocused. Daimon pulled Roxanna back to Grover and held his hand up to her cheek, murmuring a quick _'Sorry'_, as his golden eyes filled with something Roxanna couldn't place. Regret? Pity? But it didn't seem to be any of them.

Roxanna felt faint – sluggish. She felt her energy being drained, she felt tired and heavy. Her eyelids slowly fell, becoming too heavy for the girl to keep open. Lying down and taking a nap suddenly seemed like a great idea, but Roxanna quickly kicked the idea away.

_No_, she told herself sternly. She couldn't go to sleep right now, she was in the midst of a fight dammit.

"Wha'd yu-?" her voice was slurred.

But Daimon didn't answer. He looked refreshed now that Roxanna thought about it, stronger, as if he'd just-

Roxanna's eyes widened slightly, still heavy with fatigue. She was so going to get an answer out of that damn boy… the question was just whether he'd do it willingly or not.

Daimon charged the Chimera, dodging under its tail, as Percy fought with the Chimera's front. Percy slashed at its face, making the Chimera take a step back. Daimon stabbed at its back leg, and quickly dodged the tail.

It went on like that for a while, dodging and stabbing and slashing. The two boys worked well together despite their dislike for each other. But as Percy slashed at the Chimera's neck with Riptide, it all seemed to turn around.

Riptide sparked harmlessly off the dog collar. Percy tried to regain his balance, but he was so worried about defending himself against the fiery lion's mouth, he completely forgot about the serpent tail until it whipped around and sank its fangs into his calf. The train was now running over the long bridge.

"Percy!" Roxanna felt all sluggishness leave her immediately.

Percy felt as if his whole leg was on fire. He tried to jab Riptide into the Chimera's mouth, but the serpent tail wrapped around his ankles and pulled him off balance, and his blade flew out of his hand, spinning out of the hole in the train and down toward the river.

Percy was now weaponless.

Roxanna ran over to her friend, dodging under the serpent tail and slashing at it. She stood protectively in front of Percy, as he got to his feet.

Percy could feel deadly poison racing up to his chest. He suddenly remembered Chiron saying that Anaklusmos would always return to him, but there was no pen in his pocket. Maybe it had fallen too far away. Maybe it only returned when it was in pen form. Percy didn't know, and he probably wasn't going to live long enough to figure it out.

Both Percy and Roxanna backed into the hole in the wall. The Chimera advanced, growling, smoke curling from its lips. Roxanna held her sword up, glaring at the Chimera. Daimon and Grover ceased all movement, afraid that they'd only make the Chimera lung.

The snake lady, Echidna, cackled. "They don't make heroes like they used to, eh, son?"

The monster growled. It seemed in no hurry to finish them off now that they were caught.

"Why are you doing this?" Roxanna asked, trying to buy time to think.

Echidna raised an eyebrow and said, mockingly, "Why isn't that obvious? Sonny and I get to play with some heroes."

"That's the only reason?" Roxanna stared, bewildered. "You don't have any kind of grudge against us? At all?"

Echidna smiled sweetly, showing off her sharp teeth. "No, but I do want to kill that son of Poseidon, since he called me an anteater." She hissed.

Percy tried to think, but his whole body was on fire. His head felt dizzy. He had no sword. He was facing a massive, fire-breathing monster and its mother. And worst of all, he felt scared. Not for himself, but for his friends. He was scared that they'd die or get hurt.

And it would be his fault.

"Daughter of Hades." Echidna mocked. "Stealing for your father, are we? I'm sure you would enjoy using the master bolt, perhaps on a certain uncle of yours so your father could take his place – get revenge on all those people who've mistreated you." She crackled. "Are you sure you're on the right side, little girl?"

Roxanna gave an uncharacteristic snarl. "I haven't stolen _anything_."

The Chimera advanced. There was no place else to go, so Percy and Roxanna stepped back to the edge of the hole. Far, far below, the river glittered as the train ran over it.

_If I died_, Percy thought._Would the monsters go away? Would they leave my friends alone?_

But Percy quickly came to a conclusion. _No, no they wouldn't, because they're also after Roxanna and I'm sure Echidna would kill the others either way._

"If you are the son of Poseidon," Echidna hissed looking at Percy, "you would not fear water. Jump, Percy Jackson. Show me that water will not harm you. Jump and retrieve your sword. Prove your bloodline."

Roxanna didn't listen to Echidna, she was to busy (being insulted) trying to find a way out of this mess. She sent a look over her shoulder, and saw Percy's skeptical and annoyed face.

The Chimera's mouth glowed red, heating up for another blast.

"You have no faith," Echidna told Percy. "You do not trust the gods. I cannot blame you, little coward. Better you die now. The gods are faithless. The poison is in your heart."

Roxanna clenched her fists. Echidna was right: Percy was dying. Roxanna could see and hear Percy's breath slowing down. She had to do something – she had to save her friend before it was too late. If only Percy had water, then he could heal-

Realization dawned in Roxanna's eyes.

"Percy," she said. "can you trust me?"

Percy looked at the girl in front of him questioningly, but nodded. "Sure, but what are-"

"Pray," Roxanna cut him off. "Pray to your father."

Percy stared. He suddenly remembered the warm glow of his father's smile when he was a baby. Percy's father must have seen him. He must have visited Percy when he was in his cradle.

Percy remembered the swirling green trident that had appeared above his head the night of capture the flag, when Poseidon had claimed Percy as his son.

"Okay." He said quietly.

"Die, faithless children," Echidna rasped, and the Chimera sent a column of flame toward Percy and Roxanna.

"Father, help me," Percy prayed.

Roxanna bumped her shoulder into Percy the second he finished his sentence, resulting in pushing him off the train. With poison still coursing through his veins, Percy plummeted toward the river.

Roxanna closed her eyes tightly and held her arms up in front of her protectively.

She nor Percy – nor _anyone_ – was going to die. She simply refused it.

The flames consumed her, concealing her small form from the view of the world.

"PERCY! ROXANNA!"

* * *

**CLIFFHANGER!**

…

**Or as much as a cliffhanger it can get when you've already read the books -.-**

**Anyhow, please tell me if I'm making Roxanna to much of a Mary-sue or GodMod or anything.**

**I am finito with my written exams! Yay! Now all I need is my oral exams, which are… five? Yeah, it's five… sadly. It hate oral presentations -.- we have eight final exams in total, so as you can guess I've already done three!**

**Hay! Hay! Hay! Alcohol, alcohol, alcohol if free! YAMAS!**

**Right, sorry ^_^" had to. I just find it funny that the only English line in that song is 'Alcohol, alcohol, alcohol is free' (it's also the only line I can sing along on so it's okay), and the rest I don't understand nor can I sing.**

**By the way, we won! XD Fucking finally! We won **_**something**_**! *sniffle* I'm so proud…**

**So, you probably won't get it if you're not from Europe (mostly) and with that said and done…**

**SEE YA NEXT TIME! REVIEW!**


	15. A sommoning from his fishiness?

**A/N**

**If anyone would be so kind, I'm looking for a Beta and would appreciate it if those interested PMed me ;) That goes for those who want to help me with a cover too!**

**Oh and I'm finally finished with my exams! Yes!**

**Lvl-ZeR0**: Haha thank you, thank you, with both the being with me in percentage and for liking my chapter ;) And who says them cops will even _find_ the judges? *inset lighting in the background* … *smiles innocently*

Roxanna: *blushes* ... No? ... agrh, hades, alright fine! Once... when I was about to walk inside from the school grounds... I *sighs* I walked into a door... which I could've sworn wasn't there before! And I then fell back into a small puddle, making it look like I just did in my pants... *blush brightens*

**swag2011**: Me too! Me too (even though I'm supposed to be neutral in this)! And thanks for the review ;D

**chibichibi98**: Thank you so much! XD Hmm, I've got to say I agree with you, though at first I was like "she's got to be with Percy, Daimon will be like a overprotective big brother!", then I was the opposite "Daimon's the one for her, they're gonna got married! (lol wut?)" and blah blah blah. Now though, I guess I'm leaning towards Percy ^_^" (I'm horrible…)

* * *

_**Chapter 15**_

"_**A summoning from… his fishiness?"**_

* * *

Roxanna would've loved to say that she coolly stood her place, as flashbacks of her life ran through her mind's eye and she finally saw the bright light at the end of a tunnel of darkness. But no, no such thing came and that thoroughly annoyed Roxanna. If she was going to die, it might as well be with a great dramatic closure.

But no, things just never went her way.

Though she wasn't _burned_…

Mind you, it still felt warm, not uncomfortable so but the girl felt like she'd just drank a hot cup of coco. It was the same warmth that spread through her being, filling her with a comfort that no one else could – a warmth that she related with shadows, and now fire, too. It filled her with energy.

The fire followed her limbs, clinging to them as if it wanted to be apart of her. The flames caressed her softly, and Roxanna couldn't get the picture out of her head that she was being hugged. Roxanna let her arms drop from their barrier, the flames followed slightly.

An idea formed in the back of her mind.

Roxanna held her hands out in front of her and made a gripping motion, as if she was holding the flames, and ripped them apart.

The fire followed her instructions, splitting down the middle, reviling the girl to the world once again. Roxanna saw the smirk leave Echidna's face.

The daughter of Hades slowly grinned in awe, giddy with excitement. She refrained from jumping up and down and turned to her two remaining companions.

"I just controlled _fire_! How freaking awesome is _that_!" her eyes were wide with happiness, and a shit-eating grin was nearly splitting her face in half.

Percy sank through the murky water, absolutely sure that he was about to end up embedded in a hundred feet of mud and lost forever to the world.

But what surprised him was that his impact with the water hadn't _hurt_. Percy was sure he should've been dead but he wasn't, and he wasn't about to question that either.

He was falling slowly down further into the water, and the darkness was getting denser and denser. Bubbles trickled up through his fingers. Percy vaguely wondered if flying was like this, floating, feeling weightless. It was peaceful, no sound came, no quick movements, no nothing.

Percy settled on the river bottom soundlessly. Then, the first disturbance came in the form of a catfish the size of Percy's stepfather. It lurched away into the gloom. Clouds of silt and disgusting garbage – beer bottles, old shoes, plastic bags – swirled up all around Percy.

At that point, he started to realize a few things: first, he had not been flattened into a pancake (and he was immensely grateful of that).

He had not been barbecued. He couldn't even feel the Chimera poison boiling in his veins anymore. Percy was alive, which was good.

Second realization: Percy wasn't wet. That didn't make much sense. Yes, he could feel the coolness of the water. No, it didn't soak him like it normally should. Percy could see where the fire on his clothes had been quenched. But when he touched his own shirt, it felt perfectly dry.

Percy looked at the garbage floating by and snatched an old cigarette lighter. Percy had a theory, a not very likely one, but a theory nonetheless.

_There's no way_, he thought.

Percy flicked the lighter. It sparked. A tiny flame appeared, right there at the bottom of the river.

He grabbed a soggy hamburger wrapper out of the current and immediately the paper turned dry. Percy lit it with no problem. As soon as he let it go, the flames sputtered out. The wrapper turned back into a slimy rag. Weird but oh so cool.

Though the strangest thought occurred to Percy only last: he was breathing. He was underwater, and he was breathing normally.

Percy stood up, thigh-deep in mud. His legs felt shaky. His hands trembled. He should've been dead. The fact that Percy _wasn't_ seemed like a miracle… even in a world where gods and monsters were real.

Percy imagined a woman's voice, a voice that sounded a bit like his mother: _Percy, what do you say?_

"Um... thanks." Underwater, Percy sounded like he did on recordings, like a much older kid. "Thank you... Father." Percy was unsure if he would even hear him, but somehow Percy got the feeling he did. Even if he didn't get a response.

Garbage drifted downriver, the enormous catfish glided by, the flash of sunset on the water's surface far above, turned everything the color of butterscotch. It was kind of beautiful in its own weird way.

Being underwater was nice, comfortable even. Percy let out a small sigh.

_Why had Poseidon saved me?_ The more Percy thought about it, the more ashamed he felt. So he had gotten lucky a few times before. Against a thing like the Chimera, Percy had never stood a chance.

He couldn't do anything and in the end it was Roxanna who had to save him again – first with the fury, then the hellhound and now the Chimera. He couldn't protect his friends. Percy was no hero. He vaguely thought about staying down there with the catfish – join the bottom feeders.

But hadn't he saved her from the Minotaur? Hadn't he finished it off? And that telekhine, hadn't he helped Roxanna back then?

There, not five feet in front of Percy, was his sword, its gleaming bronze hilt sticking up in the mud.

Percy heard that woman's voice again: _Percy, take the sword. Your father believes in you._

This time, Percy knew the voice wasn't in his head. He wasn't imagining it. Her words seemed to come from everywhere, rippling through the water like dolphin sonar.

"Where are you?" Percy called aloud.

Then, through the gloom, he saw her – a woman the color of the water, a ghost in the current, floating just above the sword. She had long billowing hair, and her eyes, barely visible, were green like Percy's.

A lump formed in his throat. "Mom?" he could barely get the one word out.

_No, child, only a messenger, though your mother's fate is not as hopeless as you believe. Go to the beach in Santa Monica._ The woman seemed genuinely sad that she wasn't whom Percy was hoping for.

"What?"

_It is your father's will. Before you descend into the Underworld, you must go to Santa Monica. Please, Percy, I cannot stay long. The river here is too foul for my presence._

"But…" Percy was sure – bitterly hoping – this woman was his mother, or a vision of her somehow. A sign that he was getting nearer to her. "Who- how did you-" There was so much Percy wanted to ask, the words jammed up in his throat.

_I cannot stay, brave one, _the woman said. She reached out, and Percy felt the current brush his face like a caress. _You must go to Santa Monica! And, Percy, be careful of who you trust..._

Her voice faded.

"Trust?" Percy asked, confused. "Careful of who? Wait!"

The woman made one more attempt to speak, but the sound was gone. Her image melted away. If it was Percy's mother, he had lost her again.

At that moment, Percy felt like drowning himself. The only problem: he was immune to drowning.

_Your father believes in you, _the woman had said.

She had also called Percy brave... that is, if she wasn't talking to the catfish.

Percy waded toward Riptide and grabbed it by the hilt. The Chimera might still be up on the train with its snaky, fat mother, fighting against Roxanna, Grover and Daimon. Maybe they were trying to escape, but somehow couldn't.

Then Percy remembered the fire, and Roxanna how had pushed him off the train. She would have been caught in the flames, and she would be…

Percy capped his sword, stuck the ballpoint pen in his pocket. "Thank you, Father," he said again to the dark water. Then he kicked up through the muck and swam for the surface.

Percy came ashore next to a floating McDonald's.

Roxanna started to run down to the river when she saw Percy emerge from the water… completely _dry_. She grinned and practically tackled the poor boy, her arms around his neck. The momentary nearly made Percy fall back into the water.

"Hey!" Percy protested to the sudden attack, though secretly he was glad she was okay.

Roxanna tightened her hold just for a second before she quickly let go of the boy. She cleared her throat trying to get the slight color on her cheeks to go down.

"See?" the girl grinned. "My plans always work."

"You pushed me off a train!" Percy exclaimed. "I could've died!"

Roxanna pointed to the big body of water. "But you landed in the water, you're a son of Poseidon, I'm pretty sure water won't hurt you…" she then added as an afterthought. "Besides, if you'd been hurt by hitting the water, then you'd most likely been splattered as if you'd hit solid asphalt. A quick death if you ask me."

Percy continued to start in disbelief at his friend. He kept opening and closing his mouth, then thought better of it and just sighed. What was that saying again? If you can't beat them, join them.

"How did you even get away?" he finally asked.

Grover's lips quirked into a smile. "Jumped off the train as soon as it was off the bridge." He sounded as if he, himself, couldn't believe they just did that. Then he added, "Rox."

Percy's understood immediately. Roxanna simply grinned at the two, chuckling lightly.

A sudden blood-chilling roar sounded through the area.

Grover seemed to be making himself smaller. "Please tell me that was just me and you guys didn't hear that…"

"Sorry to disappoint." Percy tried to smile, but his lips just gave a weak quirk.

Roxanna felt the hairs on her neck stand on end. She turned around, frantically searching for the source of the sound. The train, going further and further away, was still smoking and Roxanna was hoping against hope that Echidna and her son stayed for the ride. She'd had enough of crazy ladies and their rabid children.

A familiar blood red suddenly came into her field of vision, acting like a panic alarm to the girl. She turned to fully see and, lo and behold, four war-hounds were making their shifty way towards the demigods and satyr.

"Run!" Roxanna heard someone yell, but her ADHD infested mind had suddenly become too focused with their _bags_ which were _still on the damn train_. How could they forget their bags?

But Roxanna was pulled along whether she liked it or not. Daimon tightened his hold slightly on Roxanna's wrist. Not even the gods knew how much trouble he'd be in if something were to happen to her…

Percy found hold of Roxanna's other wrist, as he yelled over his shoulder, "Come on, Grover! Hurry up!"

"It's these stupid shoes' fault!" Grover complained. "Making it hard for me to run."

"Get your furry ass in gear, Grover!" Roxanna shouted.

"Alright, alright!" Grover hopped from one foot – or well, _hoof_ – to the other, as he took off his fake feet. He quickly caught up to the others. "Don't get your panties in a twist."

Roxanna ignored him and looked back, the war-hounds were gaining on them quickly. It was rather depressing really, no matter how fast they seemed to run Roxanna knew that the war-hounds would be there when they stopped.

A fifth hound jumped into their pathway.

The group skittered to a stop in front of the large monster dog. It growled and slowly moved forward. The four war-hounds came to a stop behind the quartet.

Roxanna nervously swallowed her spit. "Nice doggy, good doggy," the hound roared. Roxanna clammed her mouth shut with a _click _of her teeth.

It lunged. Roxanna and Grover jumped to one side while Percy and Daimon another. Two hounds went after the female demigod and satyr, so that left the boys with the last three. Both Percy and Daimon took forth their swords – Riptide and Mortem.

The two boys stood back-to-back, the three hounds circling them, with their swords raised and at the ready. Hound number one pounced, claws ready to slice whatever it got in its grasp to ribbons, and roared.

Percy and Daimon rolled out of the way, Percy to one side Daimon to the other, and Percy went after hound number two. Percy duck under a claw and came up a stabbed the hound in the shoulder. The hound screamed in pain and swung wildly with its other claw, bashing Percy in the side. Percy rolled as he hit the ground, eyes shut in pain, immensely glad the sharp claws hadn't hit instead of the hold paw.

Then he heard Daimon yell, "Look out!"

Percy opened his eyes and saw hound number one about to bit his head clean off, when suddenly it stopped. Daimon had plunged his sword deep into the back of the hound, and now it slowly melt into what seemed like blood.

Daimon looked down at Percy coldly and said, "Get up."

Percy glared and slowly got up, wincing as he jolted his side a bit too much. The two boys went back-to-back again as the remaining two hounds circled them. Hound number three snapped after Daimon and he swung his sword in an arc, slicing its cheek.

The hound growled and backed off a bit, but as soon as it did hound number two sprung forth and lunged at the two boys. The boys, completely unaware of the other, ended up rolling into each other and just barely missed the hound.

"What do you think you're doing!" Daimon hissed.

Percy growled and glared. "What I'm doing! I'm trying to stay alive!"

"Well you're getting in the way!"

"It's not my fault you don't know what's going on around you!"

"You're insufferable!"

"And you're impossible!"

"If you two are done flirting, that would be great!" Roxanna shouted, as she slashed at her hound.

She went completely ignored.

"What's your problem!" Percy shouted.

"You're my problem! You've somehow tricked Roxanna into thi-" Daimon stopped abruptly, looking as if he'd just done the unthinkable.

Hound number three lunged at the two boys, but they both rolled out of the way, Percy with a bit trouble, and slashed at the hound's back, killing it at once. The last hound growled at the boys, lying low to the ground, as if about to pounce.

Percy shot Daimon a heart-chilling glare. "I'll keep this secret for you, _Daimon_, but you better pray that it doesn't get my friends in trouble."

Daimon didn't answer, he didn't even look at Percy, who narrowed his eyes at the other. The last hound jumped in between the boys, snapping at arms and legs. Percy and Daimon backed away, fending the hound off with their swords.

Roxanna killed the last of Grover and hers war-hounds and turned to see where her two other friends were. She saw Percy and Daimon standing over a dark red grass spot and ran over to them, Grover following in toe.

"You two okay?" she panted a little.

"Yeah." Percy breathed out, while Daimon gave a curt nod. "Fine."

Roxanna saw Percy move towards the water and was about to stop him when she remembered that water helped heal him. She followed him, not comfortable with leaving him alone when they'd just been attacked.

Percy kneeled down to the water and let his hand break the cool surface.

Roxanna watched with barely contained fascination as the water traveled up Percy's arm, passed his shoulder and down to his chest and side, soaking his clothes in the process. Then all of a sudden, the water traveled back the way it came, leaving Percy's clothes completely dry.

Roxanna blinked, and that's when she remembered what happened on the train with Daimon. Spinning on her heels she turned to look at the older boy with narrowed eyes. Daimon took a step back, clearly remembering how she had control the fire and feeling no wish for getting burned as of now.

"What'd you do to me on the train?" she said.

Daimon winced on the inside, but kept a stoic outer. "I took some of your energy and used it for myself."

That, obviously, wasn't the right thing to say.

"What!" Roxanna's eyes turned silver, as she spluttered, "How- you- wha- _asshole_!" She didn't know what to say, sure she was pissed, but for once she didn't know what to do about it. She couldn't hurt him (seriously), they were on a mission after all. Even if she did hurt him she was sure she'd feel bad about it later, as much as she hated to admit it.

It was like trying to stay mad at Percy – it's near impossible.

"Rox," Grover put a hand on her shoulder just as her eyes turned back to their usual (or unusual) self. "we can't dwell on it now, we've got to get out of here."

Roxanna crossed her arms, her stubborn self refusing to let it go that easily. "You could've at least _asked_!"

Daimon sighed and mumbled a low, almost silent, "Sorry."

Roxanna refused to let her smile be seen and quickly walked ahead of the group. "_C'mon_ _then_." She hadn't even taken three steps before she passed out.

* * *

**I have nothing to say… other than PLEASE REVIEW!**


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